Our take on the latest Tourism data (Wed 11 Sept 2019)
Tourist arrivals up 2.2% from July 2018
Departures of NZ tourists up 1.6% from July 2018
Chinese arrivals down 3.0% from July 2018
The key numbers...
- July saw a slight pick-up in tourist arrival growth to 2.2%pa, compared with 0.8%pa the previous month.
- Australian tourist arrivals grew by 1.5%pa in July. Tourism from Australia is important in winter, with Australian arrivals accounting for 48% of all tourist arrivals in July.
- Chinese tourism, the second biggest market, continues to decline with visitor numbers down for the sixth month in a row. July’s year-end Chinese tourist arrivals were 6.4% lower than the previous year.
- Tourist arrivals into Queenstown grew 13%pa, with more arrivals in July than May and June combined.
Tourist arrivals by country
Year-end annual % change
...and our reaction
- July is usually the month when tourism begins to pick up again after the lull in late autumn and early winter, with the seasonal influx felt the most in Queenstown as the snow arrives.
- Tourism growth has slowed considerably since 2016 when Asian markets, particularly China, were booming. Now tourist arrivals from the three largest Asian markets (China, Japan, and South Korea) are declining.
- Australian tourism has been primarily responsible for preventing a decline in total tourism numbers, as annual arrivals are still at a record high, while the US also remains an important source of growth.
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