Tourists just yearn to stay on

By ALAN PERROTT and KIP BROOK of NZPA

New Zealand is a natural wonderland with friendly, proud people but there's a problem, according to the Lonely Planet Guide - tourists don't leave enough time to see everything.

The new edition of the backpackers' Bible and the world's biggest-selling travel guide says that it is hard to beat a country that deserves its clean and green reputation.

"New Zealand is like a microcosm of all the world's attractions. The food is fresh and there's plenty of it and even the wine is excellent."

To see everything, Lonely Planet recommends a six-week stay.

The guide, released in London for the Christmas market, describes Kiwis as friendly people who value "hard work, resourcefulness, fairness and ruggedness - legacies of their pioneering history."

Foreign travellers are also told we enjoy marijuana and drink-driving, "a national sport ... but the penalties are tough."

Pursuits given a big thumbs-up include swimming with dolphins, South Island scenery, a cafe crawl up Cuba St in Wellington and drinking at the Viaduct Basin in Auckland.

A thumbs-down goes to Christchurch's "tired" Wizard, who is as "dated as the Merlin hat he wears."

Bryce Gibson, from Lonely Planet's publisher here, David Bateman Publishers, said the New Zealand guide was one of the company's biggest sellers.

But none of this is news to Kiwis - we are seeing more of our country than ever.

The 1999 domestic travel study released yesterday shows that domestic tourism is now a $6.9 billion industry.

The study estimates we made 16.6 million overnight and 44.3 million day trips last year, with 52.9 million nights spent in strange beds.

Most of the cash generated by all this activity went on transport (32 per cent), food (24 per cent) and accommodation (18 per cent).

We also spent more on alcohol than we did on recreational fun, gifts and souvenirs.

For those looking for a cheap couple of days off, your best bets are the smaller North Island destinations, which pulled an average of $75 from our wallets a night - $6 less than their South Island counterparts.

The most expensive nights were in Wellington ($109), followed by Auckland ($102) and Christchurch ($96).

The study suggested that the most likely Kiwi spending this money was male, aged over 55 with an above-average income and almost certainly travelling by car, the favoured mode of transport in about 86 per cent of all trips.

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