Backpacker industry aiming for better image

New Zealand is known as one of the best destinations for backpackers and the industry wants to build on this reputation. Photo / Hawkes Bay Today

Backpacker businesses will get together for the first time today to try to raise the profile of the industry and blast away the stereotype of the young, low-spending beer-drinker.

The first backpacker conference is being jointly organised by AUT's Tourism Research Institute and backpacker business lobby group nzbackpack.com.

Institute director Simon Milne said backpacking was a valuable part of the $20 billion tourism industry.

"We want to drive home the point that it's not all about young beer-drinking poms."

The backpacking market is one of the few tourism markets that has continued to grow over the last year.

In the year to June backpacker visitors were up 4 per cent compared with an overall decline of 2.8 per cent and their spending also grew 14 per cent to $578 million.

Milne said the backpacker name held connotations of a group of people that had less money.

But figures showed that while backpackers spent less per day than hotel stayers they stayed longer and their total spend was more.

Milne said backpackers were also important because they spread further into the regions supporting more local businesses.

Nzbackpack.com chairman Daniel Shields said the backpacker business sector made up a large part of the tourism industry but it had a low profile in terms of tourism marketing spend and infrastructure because many of the businesses were of small or medium size.

"If you think about what New Zealand is known for - bungy jumping, jet boating - the people who do those things are backpackers. It's not just about luxury tourism - lodges and wine tours." And they were likely to return as older travellers.

Shields said the conference was a chance for a whole lot of operators to say how they would like to see the sector organised and how to measure the success of the industry.

"New Zealand has a reputation as one of the world's best backpacking destinations. But how do we build and maintain that reputation?"

More than 140 delegates are expected to attend the two day conference which will also feature a talk by Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key.

PACKING IT IN

The average backpacker:
* Stays 30 nights.
* Spends an average of $105 per day.
* Spends a average of $3157 per trip (not including airfare).