China market signals hope for New Zealand tourism (2)

Visitor arrivals from China numbered 191,500, a rise of 53,900 from the October 2011, with holidaymakers accounting for 71 percent of Chinese visitor arrivals, while 12 percent were visiting friends and relatives, and 8 percent arrived on business.

Chief Executive for Tourism New Zealand, the government tourism agency, Kevin Bowler said that with total arrivals up 1.9 percent over two years ago, a significant change in the market mix could be seen and there was still underlying growth in the sector.

"While long-haul markets with struggling economies are understandably down, we continue to see growth from Australia, up 1.4 percent, and significant growth from China up 39.2 percent for the past year," Bowler said in a statement.

"With China becoming the third largest source for arrivals last month, the potential from this market is clear. In order to realize the benefits this market presents we need to continue our work to connect Chinese travelers with availability of quality New Zealand holiday experiences which will support our goal of increasing Chinese visitor stay days."

Other Asian markets showed growth during October, with Japan arrivals up 20.2 percent and Korea up 12.4 percent.

One long-haul market that was bucking the trend was Germany with arrivals up 8.6 percent.

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