Tue, 22 June 2004
Tourists are injecting cash into Northland businesses

The latest overseas visitor figures, showing record numbers coming to Northland, signal the region's ability to continue rising on the boom of tourist dollars, says Te Tai Tokerau MP, Dover Samuels. "There are more international visitors to Northland, they are staying longer and spending more than ever," said Dover Samuels.The latest figures show:·

Another rise in guest nights for Northland of 4.8 per cent during 2003 bringing the number up to 217,003 people.

There were nearly 300,000 short-term arrivals in New Zealand in December 2003, up 12 per cent on December 2002 and the highest monthly figure ever recorded for visitor arrivals.·

During the year to December 2003 there were 2.106 million visitor arrivals in New Zealand, up 61,300 from 2002.Dover Samuels says visitor arrivals are forecast to grow by 5.7 per cent annually across the country to 2009, and their expenditure is predicted to increase by 9.7 per cent over the year. Spending by international visitors already represents one dollar in six of export earnings.

Combined with domestic tourism, the sector generates $16.2 billion a year.Northland is proving its capacity to attract and hold visitors, said Dover Samuels. "We are starting to see the benefits in Northland of last year's $2m government grant to develop high-quality, sustainable tourism. Our challenge is to maintain quality and promote ourselves even more. Jobs and businesses here will then continue to grow.

"The next phase in the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 is for the government to provide leadership and partnership in building a strong cultural tourism market, develop regional tourist sites and to support local accommodation/tourism providers."Most of our art and cultural tourism enterprises are owned locally. The jobs created can be well-paying, satisfying and long term," added Dover Samuels.

"Alongside the economic benefits, the events and cultural attractions help define and enrich our identity as communities and as a nation. I am delighted that international tourists want to see our great country and even more pleased that they are spending money at our local businesses. We must nurture this," said the Minister.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>