During my tours around New Zealand I have this question asked me quite often: “What is the main group of tourists that you have here?” or “What is your main clientele?” Without any doubt they are the Australians. What to do at sentosa singapore
We have tourists coming to New Zealand from all over the world, but this past 12 months were not very good for the tourism industry. Here are some numbers: The Japanese are down almost 70%. The last time we had a similar number of arrivals was in 1985! The main reason for that was the swine flu and the constant calls on TV for the Japanese people not to go oversears up to the end of the year. And a colleague at Auckland visitor information center has told me that they do follow the instructions given by the government officials.
The Asians in general are down 35%! Europeans are down about 20%.
But the good news is that we are having more Aussies (Australians)! The last numbers were showing: 9% up in July and 18% up in August 2009. This is due to the ongoing promotion that Tourism New Zealand is doing in Australia, via TV advertisements. When I have Australians in my day tours to New Zealand they tell me that depending where you are in Australia, it is cheaper to come to New Zealand! Let’s say you are in Brisbane. Would be easier to come to Auckland on a special package deal than to fly to Melbourne. This happens especially during the winter season when it is cheaper to come to ski here in New Zealand than to go to Melbourne, for example!