Easter Brings Cheer for the Tourism Industry

Strong arrivals from China and Australia and an early Easter have helped to lift visitor arrivals for March by 5 per cent, to a record 250,000.

Release of the Chinese visitor arrival figures coincides with the launch of Tourism New Zealand’s first-ever marketing campaign in Shanghai today (April 21).

China has recently become New Zealand’s fourth largest tourism market surpassing Japan in January this year. Visitor arrivals from China were up 20 per cent in March to 10,650 and up almost 9 per cent to 124,323 for the March year.

"China is a fast-evolving market and New Zealand has to be in early to establish a presence and ensure that we are seen as a high-quality holiday destination," Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton said.

The new 100% Pure New Zealand campaign will use digital mediums such as television commercials, outdoor billboards and the internet to bring the New Zealand holiday experience to life, showcasing our landscapes and the range of activities on offer within it.

Visitor arrivals from Australia were up by 6,700 (8 percent) in March, compared to March last year.

"Continued strong visitor arrivals from Australia are underpinning positive growth in visitor arrivals, while markets like Japan and Korea continue to fall," Mr Hickton said.

The early Easter appears to have bolstered visitor arrivals from the UK and USA; cruise passengers accounted for most of the increase from the United States in March.

Direct flights from Canada to Auckland helped push up Canadian visitor arrivals by 16 per cent to 6,400.

Highlights of International Visitor arrivals March 2008:

Australia - 92,375, up 7.8%
UK - 36,675, up 8.4%
USA - 25,450, up 6.0%
Canada - 6,400, up 15.9%
China - 10,650, up 20.0%
Korea - 6,750, down 30.8%
Japan - 11,925, down 9.5%