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People travel to New Zealand for a variety of reasons, but new research from Tourism New Zealand shows our landscapes, unique culture, special wildlife and reputation as a place to have fun continue to be strong drivers for potential visitors to choose New Zealand.
“Overall, this research shows the current pool of people in our key markets who are actively considering visiting New Zealand has reduced by about 14 per cent since COVID-19,” says Tourism New Zealand chief executive Rene de Monchy.
“Cost of living pressures, strong competition from other destinations and readiness to travel post pandemic have contributed to this decline. However, the pool is showing signs of recovery, with more than 131 million active considers in key markets as of January this year.
“Tourism New Zealand still has a big job ahead to get more people to consider New Zealand as a holiday destination, but we are in a good position to do this. Our global campaign continues to drive high levels of preference and we have activity launching in the coming months in Australia to drive winter bookings and in China and Japan to grow desire for destination New Zealand.
“The USA is a major opportunity for New Zealand to drive arrivals and remains our second largest holiday visitor market. Increased airline connectivity and a strong US dollar make New Zealand an appealing destination. Likewise, markets like China, India and Canada have sizeable pools of consumers who we know are ready to book.
“The research shows some key knowledge gaps may be holding people back from booking. These include how long it takes to travel to New Zealand, ease of travel around New Zealand and what the weather is like here. Our future activity will address these to encourage visitation.
“We’re also seeing that there is strong potential to drive bookings in our off-peak seasons, spring and autumn. Growing off peak visitation will help industry to operate sustainably year-round and deliver value for New Zealanders,” says Rene.
Conducting regular consumer research guides Tourism New Zealand’s work to attract visitors from our key international markets. The information is also shared with tourism operators to help them understand the needs and desires of their customers and grow their businesses.
