Christchurch remains a popular stop for tourists despite all the disruption from the earthquakes, a new survey says.

The Garden City was ranked fourth behind Wellington (1) Auckland (2) and Queenstown (3), in the AA commissioned Mood of the New Zealand Traveller survey. Rotorua came in fifth.

Tourism Industry Association NZ acting chief executive Grant Lilly revealed the top picks today at the tourism trade show, Trenz 2012, in Queenstown.

Nearly 70 per cent of respondents said they would like to travel around New Zealand in the next six months.

Financial constraints, being too busy at work and family commitments were some of the top reasons they said were stopping them from travelling more.

Nearly 75 per cent of respondents said finances were the problem, with 44 per cent citing work commitments and 20 per cent family.

New Zealand travellers had taken an average of 2.3 leisure trips within the country in the last six months, down from an average of 2.4 trips when the survey was last conducted in December.

In the next six months the respondents again planned an average of 2.3 trips for purely personal or leisure reasons.

During that period seven per cent of New Zealanders plan to ski, four per cent will snowboard and two per cent will do both.

Australia topped the list of world destinations planned for the six months, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Rarotonga and Fiji.

Lilly said it was important to keep growing the tourism industry for the benefit of the country.

Domestic tourism brought in $13.2 billion a year, accounting for 57 per cent of the annual travel and tourism spend.

The industry brought in $9.7 billion a year in foreign exchange to New Zealand, roughly the same as our dairy industry," Lilly added.

"Our economy is inextricably linked to the success of the tourism industry."

- © Fairfax NZ News

Comments