NZ tourism lost ground to dairy exports in quake year of 2011, still lifted income

Thursday 21st June 2012

Tourists increased their spending in New Zealand even as the sector slipped behind dairy as the overall biggest exporter in the earthquake year ended March 31, 2011, a new industry study shows.

The State of the Tourism Sector's 2012 report, which uses figures from the previous March year, shows tourism spending rose 2.7 percent to $23 billion in the 12-months ending in March last year. The data was collated by the Tourism Industry Association and Lincoln University.

Tourism earned $9.7 billion in the March 2011 year and contributed about 9 percent to the country's gross domestic product, the study shows. While the data tracks trends that are a year old, the authors of the survey provided commentary on the latest 12 months ended this year.

Over that period the industry had faced on-going aftershocks in Christchurch, flooding in the Hawke's Bay and Nelson and Tasman regions and the grounding of the Rena in the Bay of Plenty.

A climate that favoured dairying over tourism was offset by the influx of Rugby World Cup visitors, who helped lift what would otherwise have been slow growth for tourism overall, the report says.

"TIA members are facing a range of challenges including the continuing impacts of the global financial crisis, recovery from the Christchurch earthquakes and the need to adapt to changing visitor markets," said chief executive Martin Snedden, in the statement.

He urged more collaboration within the industry. “Using a joint approach, the tourism private sector will more effectively come up with good solutions, at both the local and national levels."

The report, which interviewed 16 tourism stakeholders, found operators now view the sector more broadly, using a multi-prolonged approach of top-down and bottom-up engagement to get tourists through the door.

The report recommends de-cluttering the tourism sector, consolidating some bodies and “reducing the multiplication and duplication of many attractions.” That's especially important since some, 85 percent of the industry is made up of small-to-medium enterprises, the report says.

Tourists increased their spending in New Zealand even as the sector slipped behind dairy as the overall biggest exporter in the earthquake year ended March 31, 2011, a new industry study shows. The State of the Tourism Sector's 2012 report, which uses figures from the previous March year, shows tourism spending rose 2.7 percent to $23 billion in the 12-months ending in March last year.

The data was collated by the Tourism Industry Association and Lincoln University. Tourism earned $9.7 billion in the March 2011 year and contributed about 9 percent to the country's gross domestic product, the study shows. While the data tracks trends that are a year old, the authors of the survey provided commentary on the latest 12 months ended this year.

Over that period the industry had faced on-going aftershocks in Christchurch, flooding in the Hawke's Bay and Nelson and Tasman regions and the grounding of the Rena in the Bay of Plenty.

A climate that favoured dairying over tourism was offset by the influx of Rugby World Cup visitors, who helped lift what would otherwise have been slow growth for tourism overall, the report says.

“Using a joint approach, the tourism private sector will more effectively come up with good solutions, at both the local and national levels." The report, which interviewed 16 tourism stakeholders, found operators now view the sector more broadly, using a multi-prolonged approach of top-down and bottom-up engagement to get tourists through the door.

‘Top-down’ refers to roles played by various industry associations and Tourism NZ, the report explains. “Bottom-up engagement’: "Requires individual businesses and stakeholders to take greater personal responsibility for making changes." The report recommends de-cluttering the tourism sector, consolidating some bodies and “reducing the multiplication and duplication of many attractions.”

That's especially important since some, 85 percent of the industry is made up of small-to-medium enterprises, the report says. It comes after the Ministry of Economic Development's tourism industry monitor was released this morning. It showed business confidence fell four points to 52 in May, when compared to a year earlier.

That's down from September record high of 144 points. Index values lower than 100 indicate more pessimists than optimists. “Global economic conditions, the international visitor market and the exchange rate are the main concerns for tourism businesses," Peter Ellis, the ministry's tourism research and evaluation manager, said in a statement. "After record high confidence levels during the Rugby World Cup, the tourism industry has reverted to levels of confidence similar to the same time last year."

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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