New Zealand’s long haul markets slump

WELLINGTON – New Zealand visitor arrivals for March took a further hit because of the effect of Easter, but the underlying five percent downturn was close to expectations. 



Figures from Statistics New Zealand showed that arrivals fell by 9.7 percent in March. The figures were affected by Easter that fell in March last year, but moved to April this year. 



Removing Easter, the overall decline was closer to four percent for March. 



However, the flow-on from the global economic downturn has had a big impact on arrivals figures from major long haul markets, including those from the UK and US - New Zealand’s second and third-largest visitor markets. 



"Arrivals from long-haul markets were down about 10 per cent overall in March, but that is in line with our expectations.

“The performance of Australia continues to underpin the industry and hold the overall decline to closer to five percent," says Tourism New Zealand CEO, George Hickton. 




Arrivals from New Zealand’s biggest visitor market, Australia, were down 4.6 percent for March. Arrivals from the UK were down 25.6 percent and from the US arrivals slumped by 20 percent.

 

 

Added 23.4.2009