Tourist numbers stable but spending declines

Media Statement
Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Tourist numbers stable but spending declines

The high New Zealand dollar is one important reason for a six per cent drop in spending by international tourists in the past year, according to research by the Ministry of Economic Development.

2.5 million tourists came to New Zealand in the year to March 2011, a slight rise on the previous year and among the highest on record. Visitors’ spending is down, however, from $6.0 billion in the year to March 2010 to $5.6 billion in the latest twelve month period. This decline of six per cent in spending was matched by an increase of six per cent in the strength of the New Zealand dollar on the Trade Weighted Index comparing the two periods.

Peter Ellis, Tourism Research and Evaluation Manager at MED, said: “International interest in New Zealand is still high and tourists are coming here in near-record numbers. This is despite sluggish economies in some of our major markets. But the strong New Zealand dollar is apparently a factor in limiting how much they are willing to spend and how long they stay for.”

Australians, New Zealand’s largest market, cut their spending by seven per cent, making up a third of the drop in overall spending. The drop in Australian spending was largely a result of a change in the mix of visitors – from holiday-makers to business visitors, who typically stay for a shorter time.

The drop in spending from the United Kingdom, another third of the total, was largely a result of a decline in visitor numbers, itself attributable to the weak economic situation in that country and a decline in the value of the pound.

American tourists have seen a large decline in the value of their dollar against the Kiwi and are spending less than previously, down by nearly 14 per cent.
In contrast, both visits and spending from some newer markets have increased significantly. Korean tourists spent 44 per cent more than last year and Chinese spent 9 per cent more.

The survey showed that spending for holidaymakers, the tourist type that spends the most, has dropped by five per cent.

The survey finished in the end of March, so does not include the full effects of the Christchurch and Japan earthquakes.

ENDS

Supplementary Data Sheet

International Visitor Survey, year ended March 2011
(Prepared by the Tourism Strategy Group at Ministry of Economic Development)

Table 1: International visitor spend by key markets for year ended March 2011
(in NZ$ million)

*Totals may not add due to rounding.

Table 2: International arrivals in New Zealand from key markets for the year ended March 2011 (in thousands)

*Totals may not add due to rounding.

Table 3: International visitor spend by purpose of visit for year ended March 2011
(in NZ$ million)

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