New Zealand
New Zealand
Tourism in the economy International tourism makes a major contribution to the New Zealand economy,
contributing 16.4% of New Zealand’s total export earnings. International tourism receipts reached NZD 9.3 billion in the year-ended March 2009 and is forecast to increase by 4.7% per year to 2015, with international visitor arrivals rising by 2.5% per year. Tourism growth has implications for the physical infrastructure, investment intentions and the skills and talents required of the workforce. All of these need to be of sufficient quality and quantity to support the sector, particularly in peak periods.
Domestic tourists’ expenditure reached NZD 12.4 billion in the year ending March 2009, and is forecast to increase by 3% per year to 2015. Tourism directly and indirectly contributes NZD 15 billion or some 9.1% to New Zealand’s GDP, and supports 9.6% of the total workforce.
Employment in the tourism industry has risen steadily since 2002, by 12.7% in the period to 2009. Tourist arrivals have reached 2.4 million, of which Australia accounts for about 43%. Growth has been steady since 2001, with an increase of some 28% in arrivals in the period 2001-08.
Tourism organisation The Ministry of Tourism, a semi-autonomous ministry within the Ministry of
Economic Development, handles national tourism policy, including the monitoring of Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), the provision of research and statistics, and land and property management of tourism concessions (Figure 4.21).
TNZ is the marketing agency responsible for marketing New Zealand overseas as a tourism destination and for capability development of the tourism industry onshore, through, for instance, a national quality assurance scheme.
There are 29 Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs), owned and operated by New Zealand’s local and regional governments and supported by the tourism industry. RTOs market New Zealand’s regional destinations.
The New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 (NZTS 2015) was launched in November 2007. It guides the tourism sector’s vision, values and direction. As with the 2010 Strategy, the development of NZTS 2015 has been a combined effort between the private sector and government. It has been informed by extensive consultation with industry groups, local government, central government and interest groups.
In 2008, the NZTS 2015 Implementation Plan was developed by the Tourism Industry Association, Ministry of Tourism and Tourism New Zealand. Ninety-two actions have been identified and a mix of central and local government, regional bodies
OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2010 © OECD 2010
Figure 4.21. New Zealand: Organisational chart of tourism bodies
Ministry of Tourism
Tourism New Zealand
Policy Team
Research Team
Source: OECD, adapted from Ministry of Tourism, 2009.
Tourism budget The Ministry of Tourism has an annual budget of NZD 8.7 million for 2009/10, while
Tourism New Zealand has an annual budget of NZD 69 million for that year. In addition, the Ministry of Tourism administers the following special funds for 2009/10: ● NZTS 2015 initiatives to a total of NZD 1.6 million.
● Tourism Facilities Grants Programme worth NZD 0.267 million. ● Wairakei Infrastructure fund to the value of NZD 0.025 million.
The main source of funding for tourism is from consolidated funds, i.e. the general budget. The Ministry of Tourism provides advice on government’s purchase of services from
TNZ, and the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. Monitoring and reporting to the Minister on the financial and non-financial performance of TNZ is provided annually via the Statement of Intent, the Memorandum of Understanding, the Output Agreement and the Annual Report. Other reporting is carried out quarterly and as required.
Tourism-related policies and programmes In the area of legislation and regulation, attention has been paid to the
implementation of the Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) for China. Analysis of domestic, inbound and outbound tourism trends is on-going, while quality issues are controlled under the Qualmark (quality assurance) Scheme operated by TNZ.
Issues relating to sustainable tourism come under programmes such as the Sustainable Tourism Advisers in Regions (STAR) Programme (Box 4.28), Carbon Footprinting (which develops tools to assist tourism businesses to measure and reduce their carbon footprint), Environmental Indicators (monitoring the visitor experience and tourism sector’s impact on the environment), the Tourism Demand Subsidy Scheme (subsidising infrastructure in small communities with high tourism flows) and the Climate Change Working Group (comprising tourism industry and relevant government agencies representatives to work on a plan for tourism and climate change).
In the area of human resources, programmes are active in Tourism Essential Skills Training (the KiaOraMai Programme), the Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and Skills Strategy 2006 (implementation as identified in the NZTS 2015), and the Maori Tourism
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Box 4.28. The Sustainable Tourism Advisers in Regions (STAR) Programme This programme provides tourism operators with tools for improving their
environmental performance in nine regions in New Zealand. The project contributes to an important outcome of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 – “that the tourism sector takes a leading role in protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s environment.” The aim is to help operators to improve business sustainability and ensure that more tourism operators visibly deliver on New Zealand 100% Pure New Zealand brand promise.
The objectives of STAR are to: ● provide tourism operators with clear advice and tools for improving their environmental
performance; ● encourage operators to monitor and improve their resource efficiency;
● help operators to choose actions which they and their staff are proud of and can narrate
a story about to their visitors; ● assist operators to improve their contribution to the local community through
involvement in local community or conservation projects; ● prove the value of sustainable advisory services to operators; ● encourage the uptake of Qualmark accreditation; and
● help Qualmark licence holders to achieve Qualmark Enviro-Gold, Enviro-Silver or
Enviro-Bronze Certification as part of their overall Qualmark Assessment.
Box 4.29. Business Capability Mentoring Programme for Maori cultural tourism businesses
The objective of this programme is to assist Maori cultural tourism businesses to be profitable and sustainable. A trained assessor will use a structured process and appropriate tools to identify the business capability needs of participating businesses. This will include at least one visit to the site of the business by the assessor. The assessor will work with the participating business to create a business development plan identifying each business’ capability needs. The business development plan will also set out actions required to address those capability needs. Each participating business will be assigned a trained mentor who will provide guidance and support on a one-on-one basis with the business toward achieving the goals in the business development plan. The mentor will evaluate progress with the business as the programme progresses, and make any amendments to the business development plan as required. A goal of the programme is to help more Maori cultural tourism businesses gain recognised tourism accreditation, particularly Qualmark accreditation. The programme also aims to find opportunities to support the continual development and improvement of that business, such as involvement in more advanced programmes, or opportunities to participate in international marketing initiatives.
Mentoring Programme (Box 4.29). In addition, the Ministry of Tourism works closely with the tourism industry and other stakeholders in its policy programmes to promote co- operation between the industry, consumers and other stakeholders.
The development of a culture of evaluation, based on the benchmarking of performance, targets and indicators is important, and includes the monitoring and
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There are various policies and programmes aimed at new challenges in the tourism sector, including the International Air Transport Connections Project, seeking to ensure that New Zealand is in a position to respond in a co-ordinated manner to threats to existing priority air transport connections, to develop shared (cross-government) goals for air transport connections, and to implement actions to achieve those goals. Action is also being taken on Trans-Tasman travel, to improve passenger facilitation between Australia and New Zealand borders.
Internationally, New Zealand is active in the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), the Australian Standing Committee on Tourism (ASCOT) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In the general area of tourism statistics, New Zealand’s Tourism Satellite Account is one component of the core tourism dataset, providing economic information for understanding and monitoring the levels and impact of tourism activity in New Zealand. The Tourism Satellite Account in New Zealand is well developed and consistent with the guidelines of the WTO.
Among new tools under development is the Tourism Industry Monitor (TIM), an industry initiative led by the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Industry Association, Tourism New Zealand and the New Zealand Hotel Council. The purpose of the TIM is to provide individual tourism businesses with regular, up-to-date information on the performance of the tourism sector, including the outlook for the next three months. The information is designed to help individual businesses understand the current tourism environment, benchmark their performance against the wider market, and plan for the future with greater confidence.
The Ministry of Tourism has also started to access and analyse electronic transaction data collected and processed by tourism operators in New Zealand. This is leading the development of a nationwide Convention and Incentive Survey conducted on an ongoing basis.
Statistical profile Table 4.118. New Zealand: Domestic overnight tourism
2008 Number of overnight stays
15 064 Number of nights spent
44 545 Source: Domestic Travel Survey, Ministry of Tourism, 2009.
12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/768836715160
OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2010 © OECD 2010
Table 4.119. New Zealand: Inbound tourism – International arrivals and receipts 1
2008 Total international arrivals
2 459 Top 5 markets Australia
977 United Kingdom
285 United States
102 Number of same-day visitors
62 70 65 70 76 International travel receipts
Thousands
7 131 1. Excludes international airfares.
Million NZD
Sources: International Travel and Migration and Balance of Payments, Statistics New Zealand, 2009. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/768841464708
Table 4.120. New Zealand: Outbound tourism – International departures and
expenditure 1
2008 Number of tourism trips
1 965 International travel expenditure
4 202 1. Excludes international airfares.
Million NZD
Sources: International Travel and Migration and Balance of Payments, Statistics New Zealand, 2009. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/768878717777
Table 4.121. New Zealand: Employment in tourism 1
.. .. Restaurants and cafes
.. .. Tour operators/travel agencies
.. .. Tourism share of employment
9.9 9.7 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.6 1. Year-ended March.
Percentage
Source: Tourism Satellite Account, Statistics New Zealand, 2009.
12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/770053207365
Table 4.122. New Zealand: Tourism in the national economy – Tourism Satellite Account 1
Inbound tourism consumption Accommodation services
Units
Domestic tourism consumption
1 103 Food and beverage serving services
Million NZD
1 458 Air passenger transport
Million NZD
2 299 Other passenger transport
Million NZD
806 Retail sales – fuel and other automotive products
Million NZD
319 Retail sales – other
Million NZD
1 463 Other tourism products
Million NZD
1 231 Goods and services tax
Million NZD
633 Total
Million NZD
9 313 1. Year-ended March.
Million NZD
Source: Tourism Satellite Account, Statistics New Zealand, 2009. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/770086477842
OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2010 © OECD 2010
Table 4.123. New Zealand: Other economic indicators 1
2008 2009 Domestic tourism consumption share of final
56.03 55.61 55.85 55.96 56.30 57.16 Tourism GDP
Percentage
21 511 21 737 Tourism share of GDP
Million NZD
9.6 9.3 9.3 9.3 9.2 9.1 1. Year-ended March.
Percentage
Source: Tourism Satellite Account, Statistics New Zealand, 2009. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/770155865286
OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2010 © OECD 2010