Work More Closely With Australia: TIA

Work More Closely With Australia: TIA

Working more closely with our biggest competitor will help grow New Zealand’s $23 billion tourism industry, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) says.

Building stronger ties with Australia’s tourism industry is the aim of a series of meetings in Sydney next week between TIA and Australian tourism organisations.

Australia is New Zealand’s biggest source of visitors, with more than 1.1 million Aussies crossing the Tasman each year. But it is also one of New Zealand’s biggest competitors, attracting visitors from major markets like the USA, UK and China.

This makes it crucial for New Zealand to find ways of working with Australia that will benefit New Zealand tourism operators, TIA Chief Executive Tim Cossar says.

“TIA will be strongly encouraging the incoming government to build relationships with our tourism counterparts in Australia. Our Tourism Future Statement 2011-14 The Visitor Economy: Creating Wealth www.tianz.org.nz/nztourismfuture highlights the opportunities a research partnership with Tourism Australia would offer. Sharing research and information will benefit the tourism industries of both countries,” Mr Cossar says.

New Zealand should also follow Australia’s example in developing a growth strategy, similar to its ‘2020 Tourism Industry Potential Scenarios for Growth’.

These will be among the subjects discussed when TIA meets a number of Australian tourism organisations in Sydney next week, including Tourism Australia, the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF), the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and advisors to the New South Wales Minister of Tourism.

“A significant proportion of visitors to New Zealand also visit Australia during their trip, and the two countries’ tourism industries are facing many similar challenges in the current economic environment. So building relationships with the Australian tourism industry will be of benefit to us,” Mr Cossar says.

Dynamic changes within tourism and the wider economy mean the delivery of relevant and timely information is critical for business planning.

Shane Laurence of Flying Kiwi Adventure Tours in Nelson says it’s essential for tourism businesses to keep up with changing trends.

“If we can see where tourism in New Zealand is headed, we are better placed to take advantage of any opportunities that arise,” he says.

Ensuring tourism businesses have access to the information they need is one of the actions TIA, industry partners and operators are promoting to the incoming government in the Tourism Future Statement.

Good research can be ‘game-changing’, Mr Cossar says.

“For New Zealand tourism to remain competitive, tourism businesses need access to reliable, timely information to tailor products for the new, existing and potential markets. Information that shows how the sector is performing in areas including visitor expenditure, service, quality and length of stay is also a key element in assessing its value and encouraging further investment,” he says.

“We want to ensure that the Ministry of Economic Development continues to have the resources it needs to continue providing valuable information like international visitor arrival statistics, the Tourism Forecasts and the Tourism Satellite Account. There are opportunities for MED and other government agencies to do more work in this area and we will be talking to the incoming government about that.”

Go to www.tianz.org.nz/nztourismfuture to download a copy of the Tourism Future Statement 2011-2014 The Visitor Economy: Creating Wealth.

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