Tourism in New Zealand

New Zealand landscapes: Snow-capped mountains near Milford Sound.

New Zealand landscapes: A beach at sunset near Greymouth, New Zealand.

New Zealand landscapes: Hills above the Whanganui River.

Tourism is an important industry in New Zealand, contributing NZ$15 billion (or 9%) of the country's gross domestic product in 2010. It is also New Zealand's largest export industry, with about 2.4 million international tourists visiting per year (as of September 2009), providing 18% of the country's export earnings in 2010. New Zealand is marketed abroad as a "clean, green" adventure playground, with typical destinations being nature areas such as Milford Sound, Abel Tasman National Park or the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, while activities such as bungee jumping or whale watching exemplify typical tourist attractions, often marketed primarily to individual- and small-group travellers.

The vast majority of tourist arrivals to New Zealand come through Auckland Airport which handled over eleven million passengers in 2004. Many international tourists also spend time in Christchurch, Queenstown, Rotorua, and Wellington. Other high-profile destinations include the Bay of Islands, Waitomo Caves, Aoraki / Mount Cook, and Milford Sound. Many tourists travel large distances through the country during their stays, typically using coach lines or hire cars.

Domestic tourism is also important, with domestic tourism expenditure of $13 billion outweighing international tourist expenditure of $9 billion in 2010. Overall, tourism supports some 180,000 full-time equivalent jobs (10% of the New Zealand workforce), with half directly related to tourism.

International travel

Markets

The top 10 countries for short term visits to New Zealand are:

Country	2009	2010
Australia	1,082,680	1,119,879
United Kingdom	258,438	234,314
United States	197,792	189,709
China, People's Republic of	102,259	122,712
Japan	78,426	87,735
South Korea	52,921	67,309
Germany	64,564	64,648
Canada	48,656	48,942
Singapore	29,582	30,300
India	25,336	29,486
All other countries	398,428	406,698
Total	2,458,382	2,525,044

Overview

The country is internationally seen as a top holiday destination, shown by receiving awards like being voted most favourite destination by the readers of the Condé Nast Traveler magazine (specialising in luxury travels) in 2008, though it slipped to second place in 2009, and was also named the best overseas holiday destination in a 2007 The Daily Telegraph poll, the United Kingdom's largest such poll. Since the start of a 2000 advertising campaign by Tourism New Zealand, there has been a 61% increase in the number of Britons coming to New Zealand.

Tourism New Zealand, the country's official tourism agency, is actively promoting the country as a destination worldwide. Recent activities include a NZ$7 million campaign in China, concentrating on Shanghai, and cooperating to produce a New Zealand tourism layer for Google Earth, the first country to receive such a treatment.

Environmental impacts

Public concern over the environmental impacts of air travel may threaten tourism growth in New Zealand, as almost all tourists fly long distances to reach New Zealand. However, Ministry of Tourism data predicts a four per cent annual growth in tourist numbers in New Zealand, with 3.2 million tourists annually to be reached in 2014.

It is however unclear how New Zealand's carbon-neutral policy will affect future tourism – with some researchers arguing that the carbon emissions of tourism are much higher than generally considered, that their offsetting or mitigation will be very difficult, and that this poses a serious threat to the country's major source of foreign income.

Domestic travel

Periodic campaigns are also directed at New Zealanders, urging them to travel within New Zealand instead of overseas, due to a perception by the tourism industry that too many New Zealanders are travelling to Australia or other countries instead of domestically. Perhaps the best known slogan is "Don't leave town until you've seen the country". However, due to lack of competition, fares for some domestic flights can be higher than those for flights to, for example, Australia.^{[citation needed]}

Domestic tourism was worth NZ$7.6 billion (including transport costs) in the year ending March 2007, a growth of 9.1 per cent on the year before. Domestic tourism itself was growing by 1 to 1.5 per cent a year in the recent years, as noted by the Ministry of Tourism.

Tourist activities

See also: Tramping in New Zealand and Camping in New Zealand

Popular tourist activities in New Zealand include sightseeing, adventure tourism, tramping (hiking) and camping. To support active travel, New Zealand has created numerous walking and hiking paths (often created and maintained by the DOC), some of which, like the Milford Track, have huge international recognition. There is also a walking route the length of the country, Te Araroa Trail, which is in the process of being finished as of the late 2000s, and a proposed New Zealand Cycleway.

Direct flights from Australia to Queenstown have also boosted overseas winter tourism. Ecotourism is also become an increasing segment of the tourism market, and both tourism spends and trip duration are relatively high, due to the remote location of the country attracting few short-trip visitors.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Tourism New Zealand, official tourism agency
• Tolkien tourism, on the effects of The Lord of the Rings movies

External links

• New Zealand Government – Ministry for Tourism
• New Zealand Government tourism marketing agency
• Tourism New Zealand
• New Zealand travel guide from Wikitravel