More tourists coming but spending less
Despite a record number of tourists arriving in New Zealand in 2010, they spent 10 percent less than in the previous year, shows the latest International Visitor Survey by the Ministry of Economic Development.
International tourist numbers reached 2,525,000 in the year to December 2010 (up 67,000 or 2.7 percent) but spending declined NZ$619m to NZ$5.6b.
Roger Wigglesworth, Director of Tourism, Events and Consumer Affairs at the Ministry, said the lower spending could be attributed to global financial issues.
“The lower spend in 2010 appears to be the result of the high New Zealand dollar and tourists having less in their pocket because of the global recession,” Dr Wigglesworth said.
“Despite the financial situation, New Zealand saw a record number of tourists visiting its shores in 2010. The increase in international visitors was primarily due to higher numbers of Australian tourists. There was also a significant increase in Asian tourists, a trend we expect to continue.”
The share of Australians visiting New Zealand is at its highest level since 1985, accounting for 44.4 percent of all international visitors, although their spending decreased by 8.5 percent to $151m.
Tourists from South Korea and China appeared to be less perturbed by the exchange rate or the global financial crisis, however, with spending up $25m (12.9 percent) and $25m (7.4 percent) respectively.
Japanese tourism numbers continued to rise. However, a declining average length of stay and lower average spend per trip resulted in a 15.3 percent drop in spending compared to 2009.
Tourists from the UK and the USA spent significantly less, down $143m for the UK and $131m for the USA.
The International Visitor Survey is a biannual survey of visitors leaving New Zealand that is prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development. The full report is available on the Ministry’s tourism research website: www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/
For more information contact Senior Research Analyst Markus Landvogt on (04) 4742683 or email Markus.Landvogt@tourism.govt. Supplementary Data Sheet International Visitor Survey, year ended December 2010 (Prepared by the Tourism Strategy Group at Ministry of Economic Development) Table 1: International Visitor Spend by Key Markets for year ended December 2010 Change* % Change *Totals may not add due to rounding. Table 2: International Arrivals in New Zealand from Key markets for the year ended December 2010 (in thousands) Change* % Change *Totals may not add due to rounding. Table 3: International Visitor Spend by Purpose of Visit for year ended December 2010 Change* % Change *Totals may not add due to rounding. **VFR Visiting Friends and Relatives
(in NZ$ million)
Key Markets
(in NZ$ million)
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2010/2009
2010/2009
Australia
1,434
1,610
1,591
1,776
1,624
-151
-8.5%
UK
906
979
912
812
668
-143
-17.7%
USA
655
667
617
597
465
-131
-22.0%
Japan
412
419
419
379
321
-58
-15.3%
Korea
250
257
200
193
218
25
12.9%
China
264
273
265
337
362
25
7.4%
Germany
266
246
239
293
261
-32
-11.1%
Other
1,725
1,697
1,704
1,801
1,648
-153
-8.5%
Total Spend
5,911
6,147
5,947
6,187
5,568
-619
-10.0%
Key Markets
(in thousands)
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2010/2009
2010/2009
Australia
904
950
976
1,083
1,120
37
3.4%
UK
295
293
285
258
234
-24
-9.3%
USA
226
216
212
198
190
-8
-4.1%
Japan
136
122
102
78
88
9
11.9%
Korea
111
99
79
53
67
14
27.2%
China
106
121
112
102
123
20
20.0%
Germany
59
60
62
65
65
0
0.1%
Other
585
605
629
621
639
17
2.8%
Total
2,422
2,466
2,459
2,458
2,525
67
2.7%
(in NZ$ million)
Purpose
(in NZ$ million)
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2010/2009
2010/2009
Holiday
3,377
3,304
3,263
3,296
3,015
-281
-8.5%
VFR**
1,101
1,224
1,189
1,172
978
-194
-16.6%
Business
656
794
808
639
573
-66
-10.4%
Other
778
825
687
1,080
1,003
-78
-7.2%
Total Spend
5,911
6,147
5,947
6,187
5,568
-619
-10.0%