Domestic visitor spend up

Media Statement

Domestic visitor spend up

EMBARGOED until: Friday 27 July 2007, 1:00pm

New Ministry of Tourism data shows that domestic travellers within New Zealand spent $7.6 billion in the year to March 2007, an increase of 9.1% compared to the previous year.

“The results confirm that the tourism sector has performed well over the past year with increased spend by both domestic and international travellers,” said Bruce Bassett, Research Manager at the Ministry of Tourism

Spending on overnight trips by New Zealand travellers increased by 9.9% to $4.9 billion with the number of overnight trips increasing 4.3% to 15.0 million.

Daytrip expenditure by New Zealand travellers increased by 7.6% to $2.7 billion with the number of daytrips increasing by 0.7% to 30.0 million.

Expenditure on transport rose by 12.6% having an important impact on the overall spend increase. This increase was most likely affected by higher fuel prices. When the effect of transport is removed, the overall increase in spend was 7.5%.

Mr Bassett added that the year has seen an increase in New Zealanders travelling both domestically and internationally, and that this reflects Kiwi’s strong and persistent desire to experience both our country and many overseas destinations.

The Domestic Travel Survey is a telephone survey of 15,000 New Zealand residents undertaken throughout the year. A range of data and reports from the survey are available on the Ministry of Tourism’s research website – www.tourismresearch.govt.nz

ENDS

Ministry of Tourism:
www.tourism.govt.nz
www.tourismresearch.govt.nz

See... Supplimentary Information, Tables (PDF)

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