Northland tourism’s sustained period of growth extended into 2007 but the industry is adjusting for the prospect of tougher times ahead.
Newly-released figures show that in the year to December 2007, Northland achieved a 3.02 percent increase in visitor nights, a measure of the length of stay in the region. Over the past five years, Northland’s annual growth in visitor nights has averaged 2.06 percent – outperforming Nelson, Taupo, the Coromandel and Auckland.
Destination Northland manager Robyn Bolton said all three districts of Northland had enjoyed longer stays last year in the analysis of the Statistics New Zealand commercial accommodation monitor by APR Consultants.
However, overall numbers of visitor arrivals in Northland had fallen marginally. “These figures indicate that although our visitor numbers were effectively static last year, we did a good job of convincing them to stay longer and travel throughout the region,” said Ms Bolton.
Investment in well-researched new accommodation, restaurants and activities has topped the $150 million mark over the past two years, while contributions from tourism operators – which provide the majority of Destination Northland’s annual budget – had been maintained at a high level.
The outlook for the current year was challenging for all sectors of the economy, and Ms Bolton said there was a likelihood that Northland tourism figures would be flat for 2008.
The previously-high value of the New Zealand dollar, rising airfares and slowing economies in key markets had the effect of discouraging international travellers, or reducing the length of time they spent in New Zealand, while New Zealanders were feeling the effect of hikes in interest rates and fuel costs.
Other regions of New Zealand had also awarded large funding injections to their tourism organisations, making it a challenge for Northland to retain its current market share.
Balancing those factors, the dollar had recently begun to fall and there was a possibility that New Zealanders would find international airfares too expensive and decide to take holidays at home instead.
Ms Bolton said it would probably be late in the year before a clear picture emerged, and in the meantime, monthly figures were likely to fluctuate.
The industry was focusing its promotional efforts on the domestic market – which currently delivers around 60 percent of Northland’s visitors – and Australia which is Northland’s largest and closest international market.
Northland tourism operators in partnership with Destination Northland have made an unprecedented financial commitment in buying in to the AA’s 101 Must Do’s for Kiwis 2008 campaign.
A new five-year strategy for Northland tourism is also about to be launched. The first update since 2003, the final draft of the new strategy has been circulated for review by major stakeholders, and is due to be released mid June. The review has been overseen by the Northland Tourism Development Group.
Tourism is the second-biggest contributor to the Northland economy, bringing in more than $650 million each year and employing one in nine Northlander
Filed under: Economic Development, Tourism Issues | Tagged: Add new tag, Economic Development, Northland Economic Development, Northland Tourism
