Rugby World Cup and Asia boost NZ arrivals
International arrivals into New Zealand in September jumped 26 percent on the same month last year, largely as a result of fans arriving for the Rugby World Cup, which ends with the final between New Zealand and France on Sunday.
Statistics New Zealand figures show that 74,355 of September arrivals were visiting New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup 2011, more than a third of all arrivals for the month.
The total number of international Rugby World Cup 2011 visitors from July to the end of September now stands around 80,000, but the final total won’t be known until data for October has been collected.
The biggest month-on-month change in September came from traditional rugby nations including France, Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Argentina.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said that while the September growth is clearly a result of the rugby, the continued, steady growth seen out of Singapore (up 66 percent), Malaysia (up 36.7 percent) and China (up 7.6 percent) demonstrates the importance of the long-term destination game.
“Growth figures out of Asia this month demonstrate that Tourism New Zealand’s international partnerships and marketing campaigns, along with increases in airline capacity from Jetstar Asia and Air Asia X, are continuing to achieve success.â€
Ian Jarrett
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