Authentic products to gain most from tourism boom
A report in The Press says that a seminar for Canterbury tourism businesses has been told to add authenticity to products to help them benefit from strong growth expected in a regional tourism industry worth $2 billion a year.
That $2b spend was split between 11 million international and domestic visitors to the region each year, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism general manager marketing Chris Griffin said yesterday.
Between now and 2012, spending by domestic visitors was forecast to grow 20 per cent and that by international visitors 50 per cent, to boost that $2b figure significantly, he said.
“There was a bit of discussion about daily spend from the Ministry of Tourism showing statistics … it’s still positive in growth, (although) the growth may have slowed a little in daily spend across all markets.”
More than 100 tourist business people were in Christchurch yesterday to hear those figures, he said.
“They’re broadening their tool kits if you like … a lot of it’s been talk about the actual authenticity of New Zealand experiences, although (these are already) very good and our satisfaction rates are well in the 90s.”
The one-day seminar was hosted by Tourism New Zealand, the Tourism Industry Association, the Ministry of Tourism and Qualmark – the industry’s official mark of quality.
A second seminar will be held in Geraldine in October for South Canterbury tourism firms.
New firms were finding the seminars inspirational, while more experienced businesses were updating themselves on general trends happening in the market, Griffin said.
Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism acting chief executive Ian Hay said tourism was the largest export industry for the region, and it employed 12 per cent of the city workforce and more than 50 per cent of Akaroa’s workforce.
It also accounted for 13 per cent of the region’s economy, Ministry of Tourism figures showed.
“Tourism is hugely important to Canterbury and it is vital that we are at the top of our game and constantly working to attract more visitors,” Hay said.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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