Hon Mark Burton
Minister of Tourism
19 July 2005 Media Statement
Nelson tourism expected to double over the next five years
Visitor nights in the Nelson/Tasman region to the Nelson region are expected to increase by 1.8 million to 4.8 million
by 2010, Tourism Minister Mark Burton said today.
Those visitors were expected to bring $649 million a year by 2010 – representing 57.5 per cent growth, Mr Burton said at
a Nelson/Tasman Region Tourism Industry meeting today.
Mark Burton was in Nelson to open the new Millers Acre Centre, which houses a number of tourism-related business and
organisations including the Nelson i-SITE, Latitude Nelson and the Nelson Bays Arts Marketing Network, as well as
attending the tourism industry meeting.
International visitors would account for 62.6 percent of the expected growth, and 57.6 per cent of the growth in the
total spend to 2010, he told participants at the tourism industry meeting.
Mark Burton noted that seasonality was one of the issues the region faced, with 60 per cent of all guest nights and
arrivals during the peak season of December to March.
The challenge for Nelson tourism is to spread the season further into the Autumn and Spring months to ensure fewer peaks
and troughs and a sustainable tourism industry.
"This region definitely has great appeal as a destination across all seasons – it offers a pleasant climate and presents
visitors with many authentic cultural experiences set in a stunning natural environment and is close to the capital
city.
Quality was at the heart of a sustainable tourism industry, he said.
"Visitors who share good memories and experiences are our most effective ambassadors for New Zealand. They give word of
mouth advertising that we couldn't buy even if we could afford to spend the millions of dollars it is worth. So
constantly striving to improve the quality of the visitor experience is a crucial goal for us. The new Millers Acre
Centre will, I am sure, do just that, Mark Burton said.
ENDS