NEW Zealand’s prime minister and tourism minister, John Key, has announced that the country will inject some NZ$158 million (US$133 million) into the tourism sector as part of an internationally-focused growth package targeting different types of tourists across various markets through its 2013 budget.
Of the total amount, NZ$44.5 million will go towards attracting visitors from emerging growth markets such as India, Indonesia and Latin America.
“Travellers from these countries are looking for destinations to visit now and we want New Zealand to be the first choice. Although tourist numbers are growing, we currently have a very small presence in these markets. Our additional investment of NZ$44.5 million will enable us to attract them,” said Key.
Another NZ$24.5 million will be channelled into traditionally important markets such as Australia, the US, the UK, Germany and Japan, as well as China, a source market that has continued to grow exponentially over the last ten years.
The government will also partner the tourism sector to offer NZ$28 million in four years under a co-funding model to be called the Tourism Growth Partnership, to support business innovation and growth initiatives, with the government contributing up to 50 per cent to each initiative.
A further NZ$34 million will go to growing the business events sector, which includes conferences, conventions and exhibitions. “Conference and convention visitors are particularly valuable as they spend NZ$318 on average, compared to NZ$208 for the average tourist,” Key observed.
“In addition to this, we will spend NZ$20 million over four years to target very high-value visitors who spend far in excess of the average tourist. These visitors use luxury accommodation, private transport, bespoke activity providers and high-end tours,” he said.
