Industry chiefs say New Zealand tourism faces tough times – report from TRENZ
New Zealand Tourism Industry Association CEO Fiona Luhrs during Trenz in Christchurch, the country’s largest international tourist event attracting almost 1,500 delegates, that said the market was comparatively soft against the past few years of record growth and its tourism industry was facing tough times.
Luhrs said: “The heady days of double-digit growth are over.”
She added: “The changing dynamics of where and how people holidayed were responsible.
“Economic, demographic and social trends, and technological advances – be they in aviation, internet and broadband, or adoption of real-time reservation systems – continue to change the ball game.”
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe said it was a tough period for tourism in New Zealand, especially combined with record fuel prices, with the cost of fuel alone for a long-haul flight to the UK at about $NZ500,000. But despite this, Air New Zealand was spending $NZ4 billion in expanding the airline.
He added though that the airline would not be afraid to cull flights that were no longer profitable. But with intense competition, it needed to be nimble and responsive to change.
Last year a record 2.38 million people visited New Zealand, up just 1.5% on 2004, with China identified as a strong new market. Luhrs adding that its influence would be huge, with the World Trade Organisation predicting China would be the world’s fifth most popular destination in 20 year’s time and 100 million Chinese travellers would head overseas by the year 2020.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said the Japanese market was a challenge and Australia remained a key market, although growth was slowing.
Report by The Mole
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