Visitor numbers down: Tourism NZ

The outlook for tourism operators looks bleak with visitor numbers taking big hits and more predicted as the industry reacts to the financial crisis.

That was the word at a tourism seminar organised by Venture Southland for southern operators in Invercargill yesterday. About 50 operators gathered at Ascot Park Hotel for the seminar, featuring presentations from other operators and industry representatives.

Katherine Prusas, of Tourism New Zealand, said visitor numbers were down across nearly all major international markets except Canada, where growth was up 11.6 per cent and was expected to hold.

However, other major markets such as China, the United States, United Kingdom and Japan were all down and were not expected to pick up any time soon.

The unfavourable outlook made it even more important for operators to network and keep in touch with contacts, she said.

Making the most of online opportunities was key, she said.

Being registered on Tourism New Zealand's websites and having a website was vital to staying in the loop.

A drop in the kiwi dollar was unlikely to affect people's decisions to travel to New Zealand but would influence how they spent their money once they were in the country.

Having a point of difference from other operators would help attract consumers to their business, she said.

Some operators at the meeting were concerned the media did not help the situation by printing "negative headlines" and stories about the industry taking knocks and questioned what Tourism New Zealand was doing to address it.

Ms Prusas said the industry had to be honest about what was happening so operators could respond accordingly.

Venture Southland tourism and marketing manager Kathryn MacDonnell said while arrival figures to New Zealand were declining, there were some positives.

Figures showed visitors who did come to New Zealand were actually spending more, she said.

"People are increasingly spending money."

- © Fairfax NZ News