Looking to the future, the tourism industry would seem to be on a fairly firm footing. The lower fuel costs, guided by the global price of crude oil, mean that the high fares of old may well be reduced. The increasing efficiency of jet engines will also help in this respect.
The New Zealand tourist industry is one of the most surprising success stories of modern times. This is despite the fact that it takes over 24 hours to reach from both the UK and America, with fares to match. But, despite these facts, it seems like the travelers’ love of “The Land of the Long White Cloud” knows no bounds.
This has flown in the face of many predictions of the past. In a gloomy report in 2006 it was felt that annual visitor numbers would struggle to ever rise above 3.5 million a year. But in 2019 a total of 3.8 million people arrived to enjoy the country’s many delights. Back when the report was published there were fears that the newly emerging low-cost European airlines would mean more short-haul travel for holidaymakers. It was also felt that other long-haul destinations like India, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and South Africa were becoming more appealing.
Fortunately, the dire predictions turned out to be false with the industry not only looking increasingly healthy, but also continuing to be the biggest single contributor to the New Zealand economy.
Image: "New Zealand landscape" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by szeke
An ever-improving picture
According to official figures, in 2019 total expenditure was NZ$40.9 billion, a 4% increase on the previous year. This generated a contribution of NZ$16.2 billion to the gross domestic product, accounting for nearly 6% of the GDP. It’s also a major employer in the country with 8.4% of the working population, 229,566 people in total, involved in the industry in some way or another.
But it’s not the only industry to be booming in what is one of the southern hemisphere’s strongest economies. For example, transport and logistics has seen a compound annual growth rate that has been consistently around the 7.5% mark for the last few years, closely followed by construction at 6%.
A comparatively new arrival on the scene has been the online casino sector. Although hard to get precise figures for this, anecdotal evidence is that it is well-established and thriving. Through a combination of appealing sites and a very enticing bonus structure to attract new players it also goes from strength to strength. The operators of the sites have obviously recognized the great potential of the country as the incentives offered are some of the most generous that can be found.
And an even brighter future
Looking to the future, the tourism industry would seem to be on a fairly firm footing. The lower fuel costs, guided by the global price of crude oil, mean that the high fares of old may well be reduced. The increasing efficiency of jet engines will also help in this respect.
It’s also hoped that the greater promotion of some of the country’s lesser-known tourist attractions could encourage many visitors to extend what, up until now, has been an 11-day stay on average. By raising this figure by just three days to two whole weeks it could see up to an increase in revenue of 25% – and that would be very good news indeed.
Main image: "Air New Zealand A320" (CC BY 2.0) by Simon_sees
