High Kiwi dollar puts off Japanese tourists
A report in NZ’s The Dominion Post says that Japanese tourist numbers to New Zealand have dropped in seven out of the last 10 years, costing tourism operators $91m.
Japanese tourists have consistently been among the highest spending visitors to New Zealand, but cheap Asian short-haul flights and exchange rates are seeing fewer and fewer arriving each year.
With 136,401 Japanese visitors in 2006, they were still the fourth largest national group of tourists, but Japanese holidaymakers have found the cost of a vacation down under has nearly doubled since 2000 because of the strength of the New Zealand dollar against the yen.
Japanese tourists spent an average $3696 each since 1997, but the attraction of cheaper holidays closer to home had seen numbers drop by nearly 25,000 in the same period.
Tourism Holdings chief executive Trevor Hall said the Japanese enjoyed quality hotels, attractions, transport and bought a lot of souvenirs.
They were being missed in nearly every sector of the industry. “It’s quite serious,” he said.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said there was a fundamental change in the way Japanese travelled and it was worrying many countries.
Australia, Canada, and Hawaii were all feeling the same decline in Japanese numbers, he said.
New Zealand had a 16 per cent jump in numbers of Japanese tourists in 2002 after the September 11 terrorist attacks, but was 20 per cent down since then.
“Our concern is, where does this bottom out?” Mr Hickton said.
Part of the solution was revitalising New Zealand in Japanese eyes, particularly for a new generation of travellers just starting to emerge.
“Some nine million Japanese are going to retire over the next few years – they are going to be much more capable of independent touring in New Zealand.”
The “silver market” retirees – was shying away from the traditional Kiwi coach tour, Mr Hickton said.
“It’s fair to say there was a standard collection of product that suited. But that is changing. “We need to get the lifestyle opportunities more in front of the Japanese consumer. It’s not sheep and landscape. It’s more food, wine and lifestyle experiences.”
Mr Hall said he was uncertain about New Zealand’s ability to market its way out of the situation. “We don’t see it bouncing back that quickly.”
North Queensland had pumped money into reviving Cairns as a destination for Japanese and had still recorded a 20 per cent dip in Japanese visitors in May, he said.
“They are nearer than us, they have greater marketing spend, and they have greater product pricing, and they are struggling. They are as spooked about it as we are.”
Tipping money into marketing was a waste without careful research into how to bring more Japanese travellers back to New Zealand.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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