By Kerry Meadows-Bonner
With China’s borders now open, the demand for outbound travel is high with the rise of adventure or ‘theme’ tourism.
Theme tourism refers to groups of visitors that participate in things like seasonal snow or skiing activities, hiking groups and even surfing.
According to a recent survey conducted before the announcement of China’s border reopening dates, post COVID expectations show that 33 per cent of Chinese visitors are expecting more ‘themed’ types of tourism upon their return.
One of the webinar’s speakers, Eudora Investment CEO Christine Li says theme tourism is a good choice for Chinese visitors because of our popular hiking spots and beaches, but post pandemic, things are changing.
She says sites like Hobbiton are less popular compared to other attractions to see in countries like Australia and Europe.
“If COVID-19 never existed, New Zealand would be still be top of the list for destinations for Chinese visitors. Now, the expectations is most visitors want to make the most out of their time and experiences.
“After three years of lockdown, Chinese visitors are not looking for nature tourism anymore.”
Despite New Zealand Tourism’s ongoing recovery efforts, there are also concerns of the lack of promotion towards those themed or adventure tourism.
“They are asking what changes have happened post COVID-19 that is different to before. Chinese visitors want to get better value for money with what they experience here in case borders close again in the future, but feel New Zealand isn’t yet ready for them.”
Inside Tourism has reached out to Tourism New Zealand for comment, but has not heard back at the time of publishing.
