Tourism Numbers Grow

Tourism Numbers Grow

The good news in Destination Coromandel’s Annual Report which was presented to the Hauraki District Council and the Thames Coromandel District Council has been surpassed by the latest visitor spend data released by MBIE.

Visitor spend in The Coromandel was up 10% for the year-end March 2015, contributing $371 million in annual spend to the local economy. Growth in both domestic and international visitor spend, excluding China, was greater than the increase experienced nationwide.

Destination Coromandel’s manager, Hadley Dryden, predicted growth in the Annual Report prior to the release of MBIE’s latest regional tourism estimates. Increases across all critical metrics (web traffic, commercial bed nights and visitor spend) signalled continued growth in tourism value for The Coromandel. Year-on-year web analysis shows user sessions onwww.thecoromandel.com grew 37% sparked by innovative marketing campaigns.

Mobile traffic (people searching from their mobile phones) grew 112% over the corresponding period last year.

Chairman of Trustees, John Sandford, notes that competition for the visitor dollar from other New Zealand regions is fierce, particularly for the international market but The Coromandel is enjoying growth ahead of the national measure in international spend. It’s all good news.

John also indicates that Destination Coromandel’s Ten Year plan “beyond 2025” aligns with the Tourism Industry Associations plan “towards 2025”. These reports identify that product development, seasonality and quality are the keys to future visitor growth. He goes on to add that visitor growth to The Coromandel brings significant, financial, economic, social and cultural benefits to the whole region and its residents.

Destination Coromandel’s annual report and 10 year plan are both available on the Destination Coromandel website. Hadley says he encourages anyone with an interest in tourism to read these two documents.

Destination Coromandel has now launched its next “Good for your soul” campaign to continue driving domestic travel into The Coromandel region during March and April.

ENDS

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