Aus Visitor Arrivals into Capital Triple National Growth

Friday 24 June 2011

Australian visitor arrivals into Wellington tripled national growth in May according to regional results released yesterday.

Statistics New Zealand figures show a 12.8% increase in Australian arrivals into Wellington, compared to a national average increase of 3.8 %.

The strong Australian market contributed to a 13.5% surge in overall international visitor arrivals into Wellington for the month, compared to a slight drop of 0.4% in arrivals across New Zealand.

Positively Wellington Tourism Chief Executive David Perks says the growth is expected to continue in the short term, with Wellington set to be showcased on prime time television in Australia at the start of next month.

“At this stage we can’t say what that will be, but what we can say is it is incredibly high profile and we’ll be leveraging it with dedicated television, PR and tactical activity.”

Commercial Accommodation Monitor figures released for April yesterday also saw the capital buck a national decline of 3.7%, with strong growth in the international market resulting in a 4.6% increase in total guest nights.

“On a national level we’ve been dealing with a very unique set of circumstances. What this shows us is the importance and success in promoting all facets of New Zealand – in Wellington’s case the urban city experience surrounded by two of the country’s finest wine regions.”

Positively Wellington Tourism and its campaign partners have been working incredibly hard over the past 12 months to show Australians There’s No Place Like Wellington, Mr Perks says.

“The anecdotal feedback we get from visitors and media is incredibly compelling and the proof is there in the numbers – Australian arrivals have consistently grown month-on-month and in the year to the end of May we’ve seen 9% growth on the same period the year before.”

ENDS

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