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Tough year for tourism saved by rugby
Media release
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Tough year for tourism saved by rugby
A tough 12 months for the tourism industry was saved by the one-off influx of Rugby World Cup visitors, according to latest figures from the International Visitors Survey.
Released today by
the Ministry of Economic Development, the annual survey
tracks the experience of international visitors and how much
they spend while in New Zealand, covering the year ending
March 2012.
A key finding compared to the year ending March 2011 was that the Korean and Japanese markets each recorded a decline in visitor spend, estimated to be 25 percent or more.
The Ministry’s Tourism Research
and Evaluation Manager Peter Ellis said this drop was
largely due to the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake,
but also reflected challenges for those markets over a
number of years.
“The survey also highlighted the
continuing decline of the UK market due to economic reasons
and changed travel patterns,” Mr Ellis said.
Overall, international visitors spent $5.6 billion in
New Zealand in the 12 months to March 2012 (excluding
international airfares). Total visitor spend showed no
change in nominal terms despite international visitor
arrivals increasing four percent in the same period.
“2011 Rugby World Cup visitors spent $390 million in
total, of which around $280 million was estimated to be a
net addition to tourism exports. This was a significant
counter to the decreased total expenditure from other
markets,” Mr Ellis said.
“However, today’s
figures continue the significant decline in real tourist
expenditure of the past seven years. This is mostly because
of the increasing proportion of visitors who are relatively
low-spending Australian residents, particularly those coming
to New Zealand to visit friends and relatives. The continued
rise in total spend by Chinese tourists is the main positive
note from this survey,” he said.
Beautiful scenery,
family, and people were the most commonly reported
highlights of tourists’ visits.
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