New Zealand tourism struggling to cope
NZ Tourism Ministry figures released last week showed domestic visitors spent $7.2 billion last year, just over 9 per cent less than the previous year. During the same period, New Zealanders took an additional 360,000 overseas trips, 26 per cent more than in 2003.
This dramatic drop in local spending has prompted calls for a campaign to encourage Kiwis to take a local holiday. “With increased international air capacity and competitive pricing, domestic travellers appear to be opting for overseas travel at the expense of domestic travel,” Tourism Ministry research manager Bruce Bassett said.
Eight of the 12 regions surveyed recorded fewer guest nights, with Canterbury and Bay of Plenty recording the biggest falls, down 9 per cent or 31,000 and 19,000 respectively.
Michael Baines, chief executive of the Motel Association, said motels would welcome a domestic tourism campaign.
Graham Muldoon
Have your say Cancel reply
Subscribe/Login to Travel Mole Newsletter
Travel Mole Newsletter is a subscriber only travel trade news publication. If you are receiving this message, simply enter your email address to sign in or register if you are not. In order to display the B2B travel content that meets your business needs, we need to know who are and what are your business needs. ITR is free to our subscribers.
































Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments