Australia still the number one travel destination for Kiwis

Australia still the number one travel destination for Kiwis

New Zealand – September 6, 2016 – Heading across the ditch is still the most popular overseas holiday destination for Kiwis, despite a growing interest in South East Asia destinations, according to the latestMastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index.

New Zealanders represent the largest volume of all visitors to Australia, with 18.2% of all in-bound tourists from New Zealand. New Zealanders are the number one visitors to Brisbane, and the second largest group of all visitors to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

The Asia Pacific region overall contributed 23.0% of the world’s international overnight arrivals and 30% of its international tourism receipts in 2015. The region has seen the strongest growth in international tourism since 2005, and New Zealanders are increasingly making the most of the greater choice on offer.

“While Australia remains the number one overseas destination for Kiwis currently, we can expect to see habits change in the next few years as Asia becomes more affordable and accessible,” says Peter Chisnall, Mastercard Country Manager for New Zealand & Pacific Islands.

“Asia Pacific holidays are increasingly appealing to budget-conscious travellers; destinations are world-class and relatively close by overseas travel standards. Asia Pacific destinations also offer great value for money for eating, drinking, accommodation and getting around, and with the expansion of new airline routes and competitive airfares into South East Asia, adventurous Kiwis are increasingly looking to explore new, exciting and unfamiliar places,” says Chisnall.

For New Zealanders looking to make their budgets stretch, Mastercard’s prepaid travel cards offer great benefits to assist with saving prior to getting away and flexibility whilst you’re on holiday.

“Collectively, Mastercard’s Multi-Currency Cash Passport, Air New Zealand OneSmart and Qantas Cash can load up to 9 currencies for a number of Asia Pacific destinations. These enable travellers to pre-load currency and favourable exchange rates in advance of leaving New Zealand, which means travellers can budget more accurately ahead of their trip, lock in exchange rates as they occur, and then keep track of costs while away[1].”

Asia Pacific travel by the numbers

Asia Pacific travel translates to US$2.39 trillion and 157.8 million jobs in 2016 making Asia Pacific’s tourism industry the largest in the world by tourism GDP and employment.

China continues to contribute the largest share of tourists throughout Asia Pacific, with 50.4 million tourists projected to travel to destinations across Asia Pacific this year. Chinese tourists make up 15.7 percent of total international overnight arrivals in the region at the destination city level.

Overall, the top three destinations within Oceania are all in Australia with Sydney leading at 3.4 million international overnight arrivals followed by Melbourne (2.4 million) and Brisbane (2.3 million).

In New Zealand, the top destinations are Auckland (1.6 million), Queenstown (1.0 million) and Christchurch (0.9 million).

The Asia Pacific Destinations Index also provides insights into where tourists visiting New Zealand are visiting from – with tourists most likely to originate from Australia (39%), China (11%) and the UK (7%).

The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by international overnight visitor numbers:
1. Bangkok – 21.5 million

2. Singapore – 12.1 million

3. Kuala Lumpur – 12.0 million

4. Tokyo – 11.7 million

5. Seoul – 10.2 million 6. Phuket – 9.9 million

7. Hong Kong – 8.4 million

8. Bali – 7.8 million

9. Taipei – 7.3 million

10. Pattaya – 7.3 million
Download the full report here: http://news.mstr.cd/1U8fdbX

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