Published on : Friday, March 28, 2014
Research completed by the New Zealand Institute of Economic
Research has shown that tourism marketing efforts have had a
significant and quantifiable impact on visitor arrivals.
The research was commissioned by Tourism New Zealand and it is
believed to be the first time such research has been conducted.
It shows that in 2013, in New Zealand’s core long-haul Western
visitor markets, growth in arrivals outstripped the markets’
economic recovery and growth in outbound tourism, and that New
Zealand attracted more international visitors than economic factors
alone could account for.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says the
remaining growth can reasonably be attributed to tourism marketing
by the organisation and the others in the industry like Air New
Zealand.
“The 6.0 per cent growth we saw for the year ending December
2013, and the continuing growth of 7.3 per cent through to year-end
February 2014, is the kind of growth not seen in a decade.
We
wanted to know what impact our work was having on this remarkable
result.
“While it is clear that improving economies and increased
airline capacity are supporting tourism growth, in many countries,
New Zealand’s high dollar is working against this
positivity.”
“What NZIER found was that marketing factors were having a
considerable impact in five long-haul markets.
And the
strongest of these factors was the impact of New Zealand’s
association with Middle-earth and the new Hobbit films,” says
Kevin.
“This finding is backed up by other evidence.
The Oct-Dec 2013
International Visitor Survey (IVS) that showed 14 per cent of
holiday arrivals said The Hobbit trilogy was a factor in
influencing their decision to visit New Zealand.
“A decade ago in 2004, following the release of the final film
in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, that figure was only six per
cent.
“The Hobbiton website receives the most direct traffic from
Tourism New Zealand’s consumer website newzealand.com of all
operators, receiving about twice as many clicks from our site as
the next biggest attraction.
“And we’ve seen record numbers visiting Matamata and Hobbiton
this past summer, running tours of around 40 tourists every 10
minutes.”
Other factors considered by the NZIER included improving
economic conditions following the Global Financial Crisis, exchange
rates, country-specific taxes and changes in air capacity.
Kevin says that with a third movie still to be released and
legacy attractions like Hobbiton in place, there is an opportunity
to keep Middle-earth demand strong for some time.
“With the launch of Tourism 2025 – Growing Value
Together/Whakatipu Uara Ngatahi’ this week the industry is in good
shape to work together to capitalise on the growth we have been
achieving.
“And with the additional government funding committed to Tourism
New Zealand over four years, the organisation has the resources to
keep building momentum through to the end of the Middle-earth phase
and beyond.”
Tags: new zealand tourism, tourism marketing
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