Burton Congratulated On Record As Tourism Minister

Burton Congratulated On Record As Tourism Minister

23 December 2004

TIANZ this week welcomed the continuation of the Hon Mark Burton as Minister of Tourism, praising the Minister’s excellent track record and commitment to working with the private sector to grow a prosperous and robust visitor industry.

TIANZ Chairman Geoff Burns, in summing up progress made over the last five years, says during the time Mr Burton has been the Minister of Tourism visitor numbers have grown by over 50 percent, and overseas visitor expenditure has grown by 80%. Tourism is now the country’s number one export sector.

“Tourism is one of New Zealand’s economic success stories. This is a credit to both the Minister and the wider industry. I am pleased that Mr Burton will be continuing on as Minister given his enthusiasm for tourism, the success he has had with his portfolio, and his understanding of the factors that lead to sustainable growth, says Mr Burns.

TIANZ Chief Executive Fiona Luhrs says the tourism industry is in a very important position at the moment and is well placed to face some challenges that come with rapid growth.

“We are now going into another strong summer season, we have a supportive government, and the industry continues to provide a higher quality range of places to stay and ways to get around. The partnerships we have developed with central government will help us address issues generated from rapid growth. These include: improving staff training and retention, managing the delicate balance between visitor growth and management of our natural environment, ensuring New Zealand obtains the maximum return from visitor activity, and maintaining our competitive position in the international marketplace.

We will also work to strengthen our relationships with local government, and to grow the level of research and development in our industry. We at TIANZ look forward to another successful and productive year for tourism in 2005,” says Ms Luhrs.

ENDS

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