The future is bright for the tourism industry
New Tourism forecasts released today set out a bright future for the tourism industry, Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor says.
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New Tourism forecasts released today set out a bright future for the tourism industry, Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor says.
International visitor arrivals are forecast to grow at an average of 4.0 per cent per annum to reach 3.2 million visitors, or 750,000 additional visitors per year, in seven years time, the New Zealand Tourism Forecasts 2007-2013 released by the Ministry of Tourism show.
Expenditure is expected to grow at a faster rate of 7.4 per cent to reach $10.5 billion. This represents $4.1 billion in extra spend by international visitors in 2013 compared to $6.4 billion now.
"I welcome these figures which clearly demonstrate a positive future for our biggest industry," Mr O'Connor said.
"Our goal is that every visitor spends more when they're here, and this research shows that this can and will occur. The tourism industry's strategy document for the next eight years, which is to be launched within two months, will provide guidance on how this growth will be managed so that New Zealand's infrastructure is not swamped and our visitors' experience does not deteriorate as a result."
The key drivers of the positive expenditure forecasts include the likely weakening of the Kiwi dollar, positive economic outlooks in the majority of our key markets and increased emphasis on quality in our tourism industry.
Other key highlights include:
Australian arrivals are forecast to increase by 28.5 per cent by 2013, surpassing the one million mark for the first time in 2010.
Visitors from China are forecast to overtake Japanese arrivals sooner than expected, to become our fourth largest market by 2008. Growth in arrivals from China are forecast to grow overall by 144 per cent to reach 259,000 by 2013.
Domestic tourism is expected to grow but not as quickly as international tourism. Day and overnight trips are expected to increase on average by 0.8 per cent per annum to 2013 (compared to 4.0 per cent for international arrivals).
All regions in New Zealand are forecast to increase their tourism receipts by between 22 per cent and 57 per cent. Regions with higher exposure to international markets such as Queenstown, Auckland, Rotorua, Fiordland, Canterbury are generally expected to perform above the national average.
Mr O'Connor said tourism is on a strong and stable growth trajectory in New Zealand.
"The challenge remains to manage our tourism resources with the increased pressures associated with a growing industry, and to continue to strive for even great quality across the sector."
Further details of the forecasts are available in the tourism forecast reports as well as in the electronic pivot tables, which can be downloaded at www.tourismresearch.govt.nz.