Shift in Chinese New Year boosts Asian arrivals

Tourism New Zealand was upbeat yesterday despite near static tourist arrivals for January.

Statistics New Zealand said the number of short-term visitors rose 0.2 per cent to 250,600 in January compared with the same month last year.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said many wholesalers had reported healthy booking levels for the early part of 2006.

The move in the Chinese New Year from February to January had helped buoy numbers with an increase in many of the Asian markets.

More Australians had visited this January than ever before and Hickton said the Australian travel trade was also confident that the growth would continue through to late summer.

Australians were increasingly seeing New Zealand as a domestic destination and 875,739 visitors came from Australia. But 941,000 New Zealanders went to Australia last year.

TNZ is taking part in a series of food and wine shows in Sydney and Melbourne - showcasing New Zealand's culinary offerings.

Seasonally adjusted visitor arrivals for the month were little changed on December, when they rose 2 per cent.

There were a total of 2.4 million arrivals for the year through January, up 1 per cent on the previous year. Comparing figures Hickton said average length of stay fell to 23 days from 24 days in January 2005. More visitors came from China and Hong Kong and fewer from Korea and Japan.

New Zealand residents departed on 107,700 short-term overseas trips in January 2006, an increase of 10 per cent on January 2005. More trips were made to Australia, China and Malaysia, and fewer to Fiji.

In the January 2006 year, there were 1.882 million New Zealand resident short-term departures, up 7 per cent on the previous year.

- NZPA