Newsletter : June 2017
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide www.tourism.net.nz June 2017 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this June newsletter:
Aussies Encouraged to Ski in New Zealand
A new push to encourage more Aussies to visit New Zealand for a ski holiday got a major boost with live TV coverage from Weekend Today of the Mt Hutt season opening. Tourism New Zealand has been working with Air New Zealand and Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism to bring the Today show to the South Island.
"Promoting New Zealand as a ski holiday destination for Australians is a key priority for Tourism New Zealand," says Tony Saunders, Tourism New Zealand's General Manager, Australia. "This broadcast is a great opportunity to show Australians that the season has started and Mt Hutt is ready to welcome beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders."
Air New Zealand Regional General Manager Australia Kathryn Robertson says Air New Zealand is committed to driving growth out of the Australian market by providing more options and greater flexibility for Australian travellers visiting New Zealand.
Australia is New Zealand's largest international source market for ski and snow sports. Over the past three years, an average of 15 per cent of Australian holiday visitors - about 70K included ski, snowboarding or snow sports as part of their New Zealand holiday, Mt Hutt boasts the longest ski season in New Zealand and was voted New Zealand's best ski resort in 2016 and 2015 by World Ski Awards.
Recommendations from 'Real' People Still Wanted
Visitors to New Zealand still want to talk to local travel experts for personal recommendations despite the rise of on-line sources, says i-SITE New Zealand, the visitor network.
At its one-day conference in May, owners of 83 i-SITE centres heard that eight million visitors seek out an i-SITE every year, generating a turnover of $76million. However, one of the biggest challenges faced by the network is of declining spend as visitors, whilst seeking information from i-SITE are making bookings elsewhere.
Executive Director of i-SITE Paul Yeo said that, "i-SITEs play a critical role in promoting local business, events and council and community services to those eight million visitors. They are central to keeping people in a region for longer, to experience more of a region than they might have first considered. In addition, all our i-SITEs add significant community value ... In the event of natural disasters i-SITES are the 'go-to' place for up-to-date information as was demonstrated in the recent Kaikoura earthquakes..." Paul says.
The i-SITE network was established by Tourism New Zealand in 1990 and brings together independently owned and operated visitor centres. The core aims of i-SITEs are to support travelling New Zealanders when they holiday around the country and improve the experience international visitors.
Tourism Levy Unlikely
The NZ Herald reports that the government remains unconvinced on the merits of a tourist levy, with fears it could "turn off the tap" on New Zealand's largest export earner as Chinese tourist numbers drop. Tourism Minister Paula Bennett said central government had already stepped into new areas of funding such as carparking and footpaths in recognition of the importance of tourism to regional growth, but that a further levy was unlikely.
Ministry for Business, Employment and Innovation figures show Chinese tourism was worth $1.45 billion in the year to March 31, down 17 per cent on a year earlier. The median Chinese tourist spent $3,000 while here, 18 percent less than a year earlier.
The Tourism Board told the government committee that Chinese tourism has dropped off "significantly" in the last year. The government is watching for the outcomes of deals made by the Chinese government with Canada and Australia to promote tourism into those two countries ahead of 2019 when New Zealand's memorandum of understanding with China kicks in.
Bennett said tourist hotspot Queenstown "cries out" for a bed tax, which would require government permission, but varying levies around the country would be "incredibly confusing" for tourists. There were complexities with distributing funds from levies, she said. Auckland Council introduced a targeted rate on accommodation providers this month, which it plans to use to fund the council agency Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development for tourism promotion and events sponsorship.
The cruise industry is also unhappy, Bennett said, with major operators refusing to book beyond the end of 2018 as they don't feel there is sufficient investment in port infrastructure. "Cruise was down, not significantly but enough that if we don't invest in it, we are going to lose them," Bennett said.
Growing Tourism Spend Predicted for Northland
Tourists are estimated to spend more than $1.24 billion a year in Northland by 2023, with international arrivals forecast to grow by 52 per cent during that period.
The region currently earns slightly more than $1b, and the country more than $26b, a year from tourism but those numbers as well as visitor arrivals, are poised to grow significantly over the next six years. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment estimates are contained in the New Zealand Tourism Forecasts for 2017/23.
Northland Inc's Paul Davis, said Chinese visitors' main destination would continue to be the bigger cities, although they would still be interested in visiting Northland. "There's massive potential for Northland from the Chinese market but our focus will still be on higher independent travellers. There are other international markets that are also poised to grow in Northland like India and South America."
Estimated tourism earnings for Northland this year will be $1.061b with the Far North raking in $496m, Whangarei $453m and Kaipara $113m. Kiwis will spend the most at $783m followed by Australians $73m, US $44m with the remaining $100m coming from other destinations.
Strong growth in international visitors will be driven by an increase in airline capacity, low travel costs, and international events planned in New Zealand such as the British and Irish Lions' tour which featured a game in Whangarei on June 3.
China is still expected to become New Zealand's largest tourism market by spend during the forecast period, reaching $4.3 billion annually by 2023. Chinese visitors currently spend about $8 million a year in Northland.
Explaining the Drop in Chinese Tourism Numbers
Published by online reportage site, The Register, is news that a new Chinese travel law is being blamed for the significant drop in tourism numbers coming into New Zealand. Although Statistics New Zealand shows why this decline is of less impact than we would assume.
The new travel law places a ban on tour operations subsidising tour prices by packing itineraries with selective shopping destinations. Before the law was created, Chinese tourism companies could add on another 30 percent to the cost of New Zealand tours promoted in China.
The law includes measures to address issues such as tourist safety, unfair competition, and forced shopping trips, in which agencies offer cheap tours but recoup their costs from commissions in partner shops. Because of the law, New Zealand has already felt the loss of some of its usually busy tourist seasons. However, even though Chinese tourism numbers have fallen, the economic gain hasn't changed. Although there are less bulk tour groups there are smaller groups paying for higher class experiences. Experiences that involve more culture rather than larger cheap tourist attractions.
Ben Goodale, managing director of JustONE, says that this change in the expected market inevitably will result in some inconsistent consumer impacts on retail. "The Chinese economy - and therefore the Chinese consumer - is maturing. It's well established that there is a big rise in independent travellers from China, and conversely a decline in organised trips."
According to Statistics New Zealand, China is the second key international market following Australia and is responsible for 41 percent of our tourism industry. Goodale says that our tourism markets have been relying on these Chinese visitors, but would be smart to adapt to the new demands that are looking for quality and not quantity bases trips.
Is New Zealand Suffering from Visitor Fatigue?
Back in the 1970s, locals in the deep south referred to tourists as "loopies" because of the daft questions they asked and their tendency to take "loop" trips by tour bus. Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult hasn't heard the mildly derogatory term used for more than 30 years, but he has noted growing angst about tourists, traffic jams and the mess left by irresponsible freedom campers.
On Waiheke Island, local residents protested that tourist double decker buses are ruining their tree-lined roads. Other areas are also feeling a little under siege and a six-monthly industry "mood of the nation" survey launched in 2015 has charted a rise in visitor fatigue. In a survey of 500 New Zealanders gripe about inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding, environmental damage, increased traffic congestion, road safety, and the cost and availability of accommodation.
Lincoln University tourism professor David Simmons says the industry's image has taken a drubbing and it needs to be mindful of its "social licence to operate" - academic-speak for not upsetting the locals. "It's a remarkably simple equation," he says, "New Zealanders will continue to be nice and embrace tourists as long as tourism as a system continues to be a good corporate and social citizen."
Top Tourism Site of the Month
This month's Top Tourism Site Award goes to Admiral's Landing.
Admiral's Landing is a bed and breakfast accommodation in Devonport (Auckland) and the website design beautifully echoes its selling point of being on the waterfront. The website is themed with nautical blues and white in its design throughout, and features wonderful photography featuring the sea and sails - very appropriate of course for the "City of Sails" - Auckland. The website is easy to navigate and has basic, but very user-friendly functionality. The website is uncluttered with icons and links to social media, and perhaps because of this and the wonderfully welcoming smiles of the hosts featured on the home page, a sense of a beautifully serene and relaxing stay is suggested.
Nominate a Site
If you think a New Zealand travel or tourism website deserves a 'Top Tourism Site Award', let us know about it. (View further information about the award criteria).
About the Top Tourism Site Award
The New Zealand Tourism Guide confers a Top Tourism Site Award to websites that:
- Enhance New Zealand as a travel destination
- Publish useful and informative content
- Are laid out in a professional and aesthetically-pleasing manner
- Are designed effectively for the World Wide Web
- June demonstrate easy functionality, interactivity, originality, outstanding graphic quality and marketing reach.
We welcome any feedback — send your comments to: news@tourism.net.nz
Kind regards,
The Team
Ph 0800 14 65 49
www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Guide
Head Office: Ground Floor, 518 Colombo Street, Christchurch