The package of measures announced this week by the New Zealand Government to support tourism from China recognises the importance of this market for New Zealand’s tourism industry, and the need to keep evolving in order to get the best value from it, according to Tourism Industry Aotearoa.
TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts has welcomed today’s announcement by Prime Minister Bill English that 2019 will be the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism. The announcement came during the official visit from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
“Visitor numbers from China have grown quickly to the point where they are now our second biggest visitor market after Australia, with 409,000 arrivals a year, spending $1.7 billion. There is every reason to believe this will continue, especially given the enhanced air service agreement with China, and changes to the visa and arrival processes also announced today,” Roberts says.
“With two years to prepare for the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism, the tourism industry will be looking to develop further quality visitor experiences for this market, to encourage more high value visitors,” he says.
Growing the value of the China market so that visitors stay longer and spend more is a key factor in reaching the Tourism 2025 goal of growing annual tourism revenue to $41 billion.