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Internat'l visitor spend increases by nearly $1bn

Hon Damien O’Connor
Minister of Tourism
Minister of Corrections
Minister for Rural Affairs
Associate Minister of Health

9 November, 2006 Media Statement

International visitor spend increases by nearly $1 billion to $7 billion

Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor has welcomed the latest figures showing international visitors spent a record $7 billion in New Zealand in the year to June 2006.

This represents a huge jump of 16.4 per cent on the previous year, or close to $1 billion.

The increase will greatly encourage the tourism industry, which is about to head into its peak season, Mr O'Connor said.

"This is fantastic news, and will put tourism operators, cafes, restaurants, hotel and transport operators and other businesses in good heart.

"The challenge now is to maintain growth in visitor spend by continuing to position New Zealand as a quality destination – and to exceed the expectations of our visitors when they get here."

The result was driven by a number of factors, Mr O'Connor said. These include the low New Zealand dollar over the period increasing visitors' purchasing power, and the 2005 Lion’s Tour, which helped lift spending by the United Kingdom market by $181 million.

Highlights of key markets:

- Australia - up 14.6% to $1.6b

- USA – up 5.4% to $652m

- Germany - up 13.1% to $239m

- Japan – down 17.1% to $476m

- China – down 17.2% to $324m

Mr O'Connor said the result also provides a boost to the national tourism strategy update, which industry leaders and the government have been jointly working on for six months.

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The aim of the strategy update is to ensure tourism grows to its full potential in a sustainable way – by protecting operators' profits, communities, the environment and visitors' experiences, Mr O'Connor said.

--

Media Statement Supplementary
Sheet

IVS Media Release November 2006 (prepared by the Ministry of Tourism)

Table 1 demonstrates spend by New Zealand’s top 10 markets. Growth in spend by Australian (+14.6%) and the UK (+ 19.6%) markets has been most significant.

Table 1: International Visitor Spend in New Zealand for Year ended June (in $NZm)

Top 10 Markets 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Last change
Australia 738 830 903 932 1,084 1,296 1,390 1,593 14.6%
UK 503 548 683 824 894 940 921 1,101 19.6%
USA 555 646 816 732 724 574 619 652 5.4%
Japan 554 706 678 673 637 658 575 476 -17.1%
Korea 53 138 123 229 382 616 253 266 4.8%
China 26 97 142 294 414 409 392 324 -17.2%
Germany 134 155 203 186 224 206 212 239 13.1%
Canada 91 102 138 119 113 118 112 133 18.5%
Taiwan 106 117 138 116 145 127 84 114 37.0%
Singapore 64 90 108 76 83 80 63 130 107.5%
Other 813 1,000 1,135 1,482 1,508 1,443 1,374 1,948 41.8%
Total Spend 3,637 4,429 5,066 5,663 6,207 6,468 5,993 6,977 16.4%


Table 2 illustrates spend by international holiday makers by purpose of visit since 1998. Note that the holiday expenditure in 2006 exceeded the all-time high recorded in 2002.

Table 2: International Visitor Spend in New Zealand by Purpose of Visits for Year ended June 2006 (in $NZm)

Purpose of visit 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Last change
Holiday 2,349 2,951 3,238 3,429 3,316 3,045 3,135 3,616 15.3%
VFR 466 511 653 705 927 1,342 1,048 1,280 22.0%
Business 516 555 572 699 800 703 859 860 0.1%
Education 178 272 418 601 830 843 595 537 -9.8%
Other 122 139 185 228 331 536 355 685 93.1%
Total Spend 3,637 4,429 5,066 5,663 6,207 6,468 5,993 6,977 16.4%


ENDS

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