Tourism industry excited ahead of Rugby World Cup

Media Statement

Friday 9 September 2011

Tourism industry excited ahead of Rugby World Cup

Confidence within the tourism industry is extremely high, with expectation that the influx of visitors during the Rugby World Cup will bring strong benefits for business, according to Ministry of Economic Development research.

Almost 60 per cent of respondents to the Tourism Industry Monitor expect demand to increase in the next three months. The business confidence index, a measure of profitability expectation, is at 144 - its highest level since the monitor began in 2009.

Peter Ellis, Tourism Research and Evaluation Manager at Ministry of Economic Development, said the World Cup is seen as the biggest positive influence on demand in the next three months.

“This is a really promising result, the most positive since we started this survey. Like the rest of New Zealand the tourism industry is tapping into anticipation around the Cup. Firms seem confident they can make the most of the 95,000 international visitors estimated to arrive on our shores.”

The expected increase in demand is positive in the North Island but negative in the South Island, where the Christchurch earthquake has impacted on tourism and led to the withdrawal of several major Rugby World Cup games.

Previous issues of serious concern such as the impacts of the Christchurch earthquake and international incidents such as the Japan tsunami and downturns in international markets have all dropped since the last monitor, released in July.

The Tourism Industry Monitor, released quarterly by the Ministry of Economic Development, is an online survey that measures business performance and expectation from online respondents. It is supported by Tourism New Zealand, the Tourism Industry Association and other sector associations. There were 457 respondents to the current survey.
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