In 2019 there were 234 Māori tourism businesses employing 11,100 people, Stats NZ has released.
“The future remains uncertain because of the COVID-19 outbreak, but tourism has traditionally been important for its economic contribution to MƒÅori businesses and to Aotearoa as a whole,” business statistics senior manager Peter Dolan says.
While data in this release was collected before the COVID-19 outbreak, and the border closure to international tourists in late March 2020, it shows the size of the Māori tourism sector in 2019, and the number of businesses and jobs under threat due to the pandemic.
“Tourism businesses can have a large impact on earnings and employment within communities, for example in Rotorua or Kaik≈çura, where they may be the lifeblood of those areas,” says Peter.
Twenty-nine percent of Māori tourism businesses were in the arts and recreational services industry in 2019.
“Art, carving and story-telling have always been central to MƒÅori culture and, with principles of manaakitanga prevalent in MƒÅori business, it is no surprise that many MƒÅori tourism businesses are in this industry."
While only 10 per cent of Māori tourism businesses were in administrative and support services, an industry that includes travel agencies and tour arrangers, these businesses accounted for 4250 employees in 2019, almost 40 per cent of all Māori tourism employees.
More than 70 percent of Māori tourism businesses came up with new ideas in 2019 in an effort to grow and diversify.
“Businesses engaged in innovation activities are developing new and improved products, processes, and methods,” says Peter.
“In 2019, the innovation rate for MƒÅori tourism businesses was 25 percentage points higher than the rate for all New Zealand businesses.”
The proportion of Māori tourism businesses who innovated has remained similar in each year measured since 2013.
“The innovative nature of these businesses may help them succeed during these challenging times.”
