China to swell tourist numbers

Wayne Xu, of China Travel International, warned not all NZ experiences were positive. Picture / Martin Sykes

Robust growth is forecast for New Zealand's tourism industry, especially from markets such as China.

Over the next six years, arrivals from China will increase by 124 per cent, reaching 189,000 visitors by 2011, according to forecasts released yesterday by the Tourism Research Council and the Ministry of Tourism.

"China has tremendous potential and the wealth and earnings are going up considerably as the economy grows. New Zealand is well positioned to be a niche destination," said ministry research manager Bruce Bassett.

China is New Zealand's six largest tourist market. Last year 84,000 Chinese visitors arrived in the country. Australia is our biggest tourist market, with 856,000 visitors in 2004.

The Chinese Government approved travel to New Zealand about six years ago, yet growth has been hampered by a dearth of direct flights, poor regional marketing, and negative experiences.

People involved in the industry met in Auckland yesterday to discuss how better to market New Zealand to Asian tourists, among other topics.

Tourism New Zealand's research showed many Chinese travellers were unhappy with their Kiwi experience due to the language barrier and low-quality tours that left them feeling rushed or wanting more, said Wayne Xu, general manager of China Travel International's corporate travel centre.

Warren Harford, managing director of the Agrodome, a Rotorua tourist attraction, advised operators looking to capitalise on the Chinese market to create a multilingual website, train staff appropriately and have translated signs.

Overall, the forecast predicted international visitor arrivals to reach 3.21 million by 2011, an increase of nearly 38 per cent.

International spending is forecast to expand 52.3 per cent to $9.6 billion by 2011. Domestic tourism spending should increase by about 29 per cent to $9.3 billion in six years time.

The conference continues until tomorrow.