Ski Season Helps New Zealand to a Strong Winter

Australian holiday arrivals and a strong ski season have helped New Zealand enter new territory for visitor arrivals over winter.

Figures out from Statistics New Zealand today showed that Australian holiday arrivals over the winter season of June, July and August were up 28 per cent on the same three months last year.

Australian holiday arrivals for those three months were also 2 per cent higher than arrivals over the peak 2007/2008 summer months of December, January and February.

“The recession and a combined New Zealand marketing push in Australia have resulted in this winter season outstripping summer arrivals in 2007/2008 and that is something we could not have foreseen given the current economic downturn,” Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton said.

Overall visitor arrivals in August were down 1 per cent, or 1385 visitors, compared to the same month last year. However, holiday arrivals were up 1 per cent on August 2008.

Though the UK is continuing to show weakness, with arrivals in August down 12 per cent, Germany is showing some strength, with arrivals up almost 8 per cent.

“Our feedback from the market is that Germany has held up well, particularly the youth sector. German travellers have proved to be more resilient to the whole crisis despite the credit crunch and swine flu,” Mr Hickton said.

Arrivals from the US were also up 7.4 per cent overall and holiday arrivals were up 20 per cent.

Though arrivals from Asia are still in negative territory, they are starting to pull back from recent lows caused by the impact of Influenza A (H1N1) (Swine Flu).

“Tourism New Zealand has just launched a new round of campaign work in China ahead of a special Golden Week national holiday starting on 1 October, we hope that will kick start the Chinese holiday market in the run up to summer,” Mr Hickton said.

International Visitor Arrivals July 2009:

• Australia 88,347 up 11.6%

• UK 10,353 down 12.2%

• USA 10,752 up 7.4%

• Japan 5,586 down 38.7%

• Canada 2,247 up 5.3%

• China 4,578 down29.0 %

• South Korea 4,200 down 33.7%

• Japan 5,586 down 38.7%

• Germany 2,247 up 5.3%