NEW Zealand’s tourism industry stakeholders have rolled out Tourism 2025, a strategy that aims to make tourism a NZ$41 billion (US$35.5 billion) industry by 2025.
Announced at TRENZ 2014, Tourism 2025 was developed to provide an overall vision for the industry, a framework to develop within, and context for individual businesses to contribute and build on.
Through the new masterplan, the association is responding to the fall in New Zealand’s tourism performance over the last decade.
Grant Lilly, chairman, Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand: “Although our industry generates NZ$24 billion in annual expenditure, NZ$10 billion in export earnings… tourism has not had effective strategic framework for some time.”
“Ten years ago tourism was growing strongly at about six per cent a year, and it was the country’s number one export earner,” he added. “Although performance was up in the last two years, there is a need to develop a sustainable growth path of tourism.”
He said: “There are five areas of development which are improve connectivity; prioritise insights so that we can drive and track progress; target value; improve visitor experience; and grow productivity and improve profitability.”
Explaining the strategy, Kevin Bowler, chief executive of Tourism New Zealand said his office will target high-yield visitors, special interest and business events.
A budget of NZ$34 million has been set aside to promote the country for MICE and NZ$20 million to target the upscale market for the next four years. This refers not only to international high rollers but also families of immigrants and foreign students in New Zealand.
