For Immediate Release
21 October 2009
September Arrivals Show Positive Signs for Summer
Early signs of recovery are being seen for the New Zealand tourism industry, with a growth in September arrivals
figures.
Statistics New Zealand figures released today showed that total arrivals for September increased 9.3 per cent on the
same month last year; an additional 14,700 international visitors.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton said the figures signalled a recovery in arrivals after the impact of
the economic downturn and Influenza A (H1N1), which hit arrivals from Asia particularly hard earlier in the year.
“Today’s figures show our top five markets are all showing significant improvement on last month, which is great news
for the industry heading into the crucial summer season,” Mr Hickton said.
“The US and China are recovering, Japan and the UK appear to have stabilised and Australia is still showing strong
growth with holiday arrivals up 25 per cent in September; so Australia continues to be the foundation for our recovery,”
Mr Hickton added.
Tourism New Zealand’s ‘Which New Zealand Are You This Time’ campaign was launched in Australia in August and will
continue to run till November. Campaigns are also running in the UK and Europe ahead of the peak booking season, and in
China. More competitive airfares and an improvement in confidence are helping stimulate US outbound travel.
Mr Hickton added that later booking trends among travellers were making it hard to predict summer results.
“Early indications are that summer is going to start slowly but pick up and we are certainly pleased to see some
recovery in markets like the US and China, which are major contributors to New Zealand’s long-haul arrivals,” Mr Hickton
said.
International Visitor Arrivals September 2009:
Australia 94,962 up 15.4%
UK 10,542 down 0.4%
USA 10,038 up 9.9%
China 6,342 up 15.4 %
Japan 6,258 down 3.5%
Germany 3,255 up 4.8%
South Korea 3,045 down 33.5%
Canada 2,058 down 3.8 %
ends