Kiwis see benefits of international tourism for NZ
Kiwis see benefits of international tourism for NZ
Following a record summer for international visitor arrivals, the majority of New Zealanders remain positive about the impact of tourism and overall sentiment has slightly improved, according to the latest Mood of the Nation research released today.
The research, undertaken by Kantar TNS and funded jointly by Tourism New Zealand and Tourism Industry Aotearoa, has been undertaken every six months since 2015 to track public understanding and views on tourism. The latest research was conducted in March 2018.
Almost all New Zealanders surveyed in March strongly agreed or agreed that international tourism is good for New Zealand (96%).
Most of those surveyed believe New Zealand is attracting the right number of visitors or should be attracting more. Approximately 22 percent feel there are too many international visitors – down slightly from 23 percent in the last survey in November 2017.
Concern that tourism growth is putting pressure on New Zealand also declined slightly from 40 percent to 39 percent of respondents.
TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts says the greatest value in the Mood of the Nation survey is the tracking of public sentiment over time.
“Since we initiated the Mood of the Nation in 2015, we have had very strong arrivals growth and a corresponding increase in public concern about things like pressure on infrastructure and congestion.
“It is heartening that this trend has levelled off in the latest survey and overall sentiment has slightly improved.”
Mood of the Nation shows 91 percent of New Zealanders are proud New Zealand is seen as an attractive visitor destination. Additionally, 88 percent of New Zealanders take pride in making visitors feel welcome in New Zealand.
“While our landscapes capture the imagination of prospective visitors to Aotearoa, it is manaakitanga, the very Kiwi act of hospitality and sharing, that sets New Zealand apart on the world stage as a highly desirable visitor destination and brings visitors back time and time again,” says Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Stephen England-Hall. “It’s so inherently part of who we are it’s reflected in our name – Manaakitanga Aotearoa”.
“Personal recommendation is the number one reason visitors choose a destination, so it’s incredibly encouraging to see the majority of Kiwis embracing manaakitanga and helping to create a positive experience for our visitors.”
Respondents identified economic and employment opportunities as key benefits of international tourism. This included economic growth for the regions (60%), growth opportunities for businesses (59%) and employment opportunities for residents (52%).
International tourism is New Zealand’s biggest export earner, officially contributing $14.5 billion a year to the economy. Tourism directly or indirectly employs one-in-seven New Zealanders.
“Tourism New Zealand’s purpose is to market our country in such a way as to ensure international visitors enrich New Zealand. Making sure high-value visitors choose New Zealand is our number one objective within that,” says Mr England-Hall. “To do this, we target our marketing, PR and trade activity to high-yield markets such as Australia, China and North America and solely focus on promoting shoulder season travel so that spend is spread more evenly across the year, instead of just peak season.”
Pressure on infrastructure is the top concern New Zealanders have with international tourism; other concerns include accommodation shortages, environmental damage, freedom camping, traffic congestion and road safety.
Queenstown and Auckland continue to be seen as the areas under the most pressure from international tourism by residents. Perceptions from Queenstown tended to be more negative than in the other centres surveyed.
TIA and Tourism New Zealand say all of these issues are being addressed by the private sector and public sector working together.
Mr Roberts says the tourism industry readily acknowledges that the rapid increase in visitor numbers has caught some communities by surprise and created some challenges. The industry is working with central and local government to respond to these challenges.
New Zealand: the ultimate destination for wealthy Europeans
New Zealand: the ultimate destination for wealthy Europeans
More than 300 agencies that cater solely for the world’s high net worth individuals have voted New Zealand their “Most Preferred Destination”.
For high net worth travellers looking for unique, bespoke experiences, New Zealand becomes the ultimate destination
The title was awarded at Traveller Made’s Essence of Luxury Forum in France recently.
Traveller Made is a network community for luxury travel designers and suppliers including hotels and experience providers. It is an exclusive invitation-only network with a two-year application process for membership.
“Traveller Made has considerable status among the luxury travel industry and to be recognised by its members is a tremendous boost for New Zealand’s premium sector. Tourism New Zealand was the first national tourism organisation to join Traveller Made and the relationship has helped increase the awareness of New Zealand as a must-do luxury destination for its clients,” says Pip Casey, Tourism New Zealand’s Regional Manager Europe.
Tourism New Zealand’s Premium Manager in Europe attended the forum and conducted almost 100 one-on-one meetings with travel designers who specialise in bespoke luxury holidays for ultra-high and high net worth individuals. Prior to the forum Tourism New Zealand held product training in the UK with the Luxury Lodges of New Zealand, training 40 of the UK’s leading luxury travel sellers.
“When we first joined Traveller Made in 2014 there were only 70 member agencies and one New Zealand partner. Now there are almost more than 300 member agencies from around Europe, North, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania (including 14 partners from New Zealand),” says Ms Casey.
“Being awarded ‘Most Preferred Destination’ highlights the level of respect that the sector has for New Zealand’s premium tourism offerings, and our world-renowned luxury lodges and facilities. For high net worth travellers looking for unique, bespoke experiences, New Zealand becomes the ultimate destination.”
High net worth individuals from the UK and Germany account for New Zealand’s 3rd and 4th largest markets for premium tourism. Tourism New Zealand continues to build extensive relationships with European agencies, particularly targeting high net worth individuals in UK, Germany and France.
Fishing show lures South Koreans to New Zealand’s waters
Fishing show lures South Koreans to New Zealand’s waters
New Zealand’s landscapes, record weight fish, and a hip hop music backing track made for thrilling television in South Korea recently.
What a catch!
A series of episodes of the hit show “The Fishermen and The City” featuring New Zealand outperformed all other programmes in its time slot.
The hosts, Auckland-raised hip hop artist Microdot (David Shen), actor Lee Deok-hwa, and comedian Lee Kyung-kyu, along with guest celebrity actor Ju Jin Mo, spent a fortnight in February filming their fishing adventures on the Auckland, Waiheke Island, Whakatane, and an expedition to White Island.
The episodes’ production was supported by Tourism New Zealand and Auckland International Airport.
“South Korea has one of the most-travelled populations in the world, and outbound numbers are increasing so there are considerable opportunities for New Zealand. ‘The Fishermen and The City’ is a very popular television show that provided a new way for Tourism New Zealand to showcase our regions and the different activities on offer,” says Gregg Wafelbakker, Tourism New Zealand’s General Manager – Asia.
“Having a kiwi connection with Microdot was fantastic as he gave the Korean audience a local perspective on our culture and paved the way for a lot of discussion with the presenters. Microdot often references New Zealand and Auckland in his music and is a keen fisherman, with a substantial following online.”
The team’s adventures were aired over five 90-minute episodes in March and April. With more than 11 million viewers, the episodes collectively generated $12 million in equivalent advertising value (more than $5 million up on expectations).
Tourism New Zealand and Auckland International Airport have worked extensively together supporting travel agents to promote shoulder season travel in New Zealand. The organisations have also partnered with Korean Air.
For the year ending February 2018, 67,152 Koreans travelled to New Zealand on holiday (up 13.4% on the year prior), staying for an average 10.2 days.
Kiwi Link connects NZ operators with Japan and Korean buyers
Kiwi Link connects NZ operators with Japan and Korean buyers
The latest Kiwi Link Korea and Japan trade events have helped Kiwi operators connect with buyers to promote their products and the broader New Zealand experience.
Pictured: Delegates at the recent Kiwi Link events
Hosted by Tourism New Zealand, and held in Tokyo and Seoul across three days, the events were an opportunity for operators to tap into two important visitor markets with just two hour’s flight-time between them.
Hobbiton Tours Sales Manager, Henry Horne attended both Kiwi Link events this year because of the importance of the markets to the business.
“Both markets are valued by us as they provide a year-round flow of travellers to us amongst our peak season demand,” says Mr Horne.
The Kiwi Link events are designed in a way for New Zealand operators to not only promote their products, but also gain better insights into important visitor markets.
Tourism Holdings Limited’s Jackie Costello says she would strongly suggest other operators attend the events if they want to continue growth from these countries and better understand how the market works, because: “They are different to other markets.”
Real Journeys Sale Executive, Tamie Wexler says the Kiwi Link events are a valuable channel to better understand what the visitor markets are currently looking for.
“From the outside it appears we go to Kiwi Link to teach, but from the inside we’re actually there to learn,” says Ms Wexler.
She says the added value in selling a New Zealand tourism product comes from members of the industry joining together for the event.
“When we’re overseas New Zealand as a brand becomes extremely powerful when we all join forces with TNZ and present this beautiful country as a team,” says Ms Wexler.
Southern Discoveries’ International Sales Manager Asia, Cecil Potatau agrees.
“The relationships you make during these events are the biggest take-aways for me, as one of the key factors in working with these markets is building trust,” says Mr Potatau.
“The other is the cultural exchange and the learnings – understanding the culture can help with product development and the service you provide to different markets.”
Japan is New Zealand’s sixth-largest visitor market with more than 69,000 holiday arrivals each year.
Korea continues to be an important visitor market for New Zealand, with more than 67,000 visitors each year.
Buyers JTB World Vacations and STWorld say they are already looking forward to the next Japan Kiwi Link event, which is scheduled for March 2019.
“It was great for me to learn about new products and activities at workshop,” says STWorld’s Toshinari Yoneyama. “This is a fantastic event to keep our business relationship with New Zealand suppliers.”
Wildlife and water imagery top for China and Japan markets
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New Zealand wildlife and water imagery topped the list in the latest image testing for our China and Japan visitor markets.
The latest image testing involved 900 Chinese and Japanese people within the target market of those actively considering a holiday in New Zealand. These Active Considerers evaluated more than 150 images showcasing New Zealand places and experiences.
“China and Japan make up 11.2% and 2.8% of all international visitor arrivals respectively, which equates to more than half a million people each year. This is a hugely valuable visitor pool that the tourism industry can benefit from more deeply understanding.”
Testing by Kantar TNS in the China and Japan markets each showed that Active Considerers have a particular preference towards wildlife or water imagery – including lakes and beaches. Chinese Active Considerers had a strong preference towards passive activities and attractions, while Japanese Active Considerers also rated some adventure activities well. The lowest performing images in both markets generally depicted physically demanding or high-adrenaline activities.
Image testing identifies which New Zealand image themes have the strongest long-term brand building potential within an active considerer market. The research also identifies experiences that are likely to be of particular interest to that market. These insights help to inform marketing approaches to inspire those considering New Zealand as a destination to research and book their next trip here.
For the year ending December 2017, Chinese holiday visitors contributed $1.12 billion to the New Zealand economy. Japan visitors contributed $202 million.