Late in 2014 Prime Minister John Key spoke exclusively to Hospitality Business about the immediate future of tourism in our country, a key sector when it comes to employment in the hospitality industry.
“2015 is shaping up to be a great year for the tourism sector as we look set to welcome more international visitors to New Zealand shores.
Tourism already plays a major role in the economy, contributing an estimated $8.3 billion or 4 per cent to GDP in the year ending March 2014. Tourism has the potential to go further and make an even stronger contribution to New Zealand’s economic wellbeing.
International visitor arrivals in New Zealand are at records levels, with 2.8 million international visitors arriving in New Zealand in the year ending October 2014 – an increase of 5.1 per cent from the same time in the previous year. These numbers are projected to continue to grow to reach 3.55 million by 2020 – an increase of 27 per cent.
China is now New Zealand’s second-largest and fastest-growing source of visitors, overtaking the United Kingdom. In the year to October 2014, 248,784 Chinese visitors arrived in
New Zealand and this is set to grow to more than 500,000 by 2020.
The Government will continue to support the industry to respond to this demand from emerging markets – particularly China – and to convert this demand into higher visitor spending.
To capture this opportunity the industry needs to provide high quality experiences to visitors – from the stunning natural environments we entice our visitors to enjoy, to other services we offer, from hospitality to retail.
The Government is playing its support role where we can – we’ve invested $600 million into tourism, and tourism promotion since 2008, much of which has been invested in Tourism New Zealand’s marketing and promotional efforts.
In 2015, we will continue to support marketing and promotion in both emerging and established markets. There will be a particular focus on high-value and special interest visitors such as golfers, skiers, hikers and cyclists, which will help increase the average spend of each visitor, while also going some way to addressing seasonality in the industry.
We have introduced the Tourism Growth Partnership, a contestable Government fund that aims to boost innovation and productivity in the tourism sector and we will continue to work with businesses to improve productivity and enhance innovation.
We will also build on our significant investment in tourism-related infrastructure, such as conference facilities and the New Zealand Cycle Trails to ensure the high quality experience.
New Zealand Cycle Trail Great Rides are a clean and environmentally friendly asset for international and local tourism. The Government is committed to ensuring that the $47.5 million investment made in the cycle trails is maintained through an $8 million, four year fund to help maintain their quality.
It is clear that there is a lot to be positive about in the tourism sector, and a lot to be excited about. We have some unique opportunities ahead of us to innovate and grow the sector to levels we haven’t seen before and I look forward to seeing all that can be achieved in the year ahead.”
