New Zealand’s tourism figures well ahead of Australia

Minister of Tourism Mark Burton is encouraged by the results of Statistics New Zealand’s most recent survey of international visitor arrivals. The survey, which was released today, shows that while numbers are three per cent down on last year, the New Zealand tourism sector is currently in a much stronger position than our neighbours across the ditch.

“The events of last September had a massive impact on the tourism industry globally, and the past year has been extremely challenging. However, New Zealand has recovered well, with only a brief drop in the number of arrivals.

“Several factors have contributed to our recovery, including the perception of New Zealand as a safe and friendly tourism destination. But because we have built strong partnerships between government and industry, New Zealand was able to meet the crisis in a co-ordinated and focussed way.

“As a result, New Zealand’s tourism sector has recovered much more quickly than Australia, and they are facing the prospect of a $2 billion drop in earnings.

There were 133,300 short-term overseas visitor arrivals in New Zealand in August 2002, down 3,600 (or 3 percent) on August 2001. Although this is a slight downward trend for the period 2001-2002, it compares very favourably with the 2000 figure of 117,360.

The number of stay days for all visitor arrivals in August 2002 was up 8 percent on the previous August, from 2.5 million days to 2.7 million days, while the average length of stay increased from 18 to 20 days.

“Tourism is still showing excellent growth in the long-term, and New Zealand’s performance is a credit to the industry and the government,” said Mark Burton.

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