Fall in March international arrivals cushioned by China and US growth

International arrivals into New Zealand fell by 27,710 (down 11.4 per cent) in March 2011, compared to the same month in 2010, Statistics New Zealand figures released today show.

Arrival numbers fell from key markets including Australia (down 11.3 per cent), UK (down 25.8 per cent), South Korea (down 38.1 per cent) and Japan (down 35.1 per cent), while China (up 7.1 per cent), USA (up 1.2 per cent) and Singapore (up 8.7 per cent) grew.

In the 12 months to March 2011, 2,506,639 international visitors arrived in New Zealand, an increase of 0.3 per cent compared to the year to March 2010.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler said the drop in arrivals for March in a number of key markets was in line with what had been anticipated following events in both Christchurch and Japan.

"The international experience of events of this nature is that an immediate shortfall in visitor numbers is likely. The challenge for Tourism New Zealand and the wider industry has been to minimise the fall with effective communications that provide confidence to intending travellers to proceed with their plans for New Zealand, and for others to make new ones.

"Despite the challenging period it is encouraging to see continued growth in China and Singapore arrivals, and pleasing that arrival figures from USA - our third largest market for visitors - are positive."

Following February's events, Tourism New Zealand increased its marketing efforts in key markets and altered some of its messaging to help ensure arrival numbers bounced back as quickly as possible, he said.

"Tourism New Zealand's focus over the past two months has been on doing whatever we can to remind international visitors and trade that New Zealand's appeal as a travel destination had not changed.

"While we can expect overall arrival figures in April to also be challenging, I am confident that with the New Zealand ski season ahead, a host of new air routes linking China and South East Asia to New Zealand, and Rugby World Cup 2011 around the corner, arrivals will return to more normal levels later in the year."

International visitor arrivals March 2011: