The vast majority of Australian visitors (98 per cent) said they
were likely to recommend New Zealand as a holiday destination.
Introduction
Each year Tourism New Zealand commissions independent research
to gain a sense of how satisfied our international visitors are
with the holiday experience New Zealand provides.
Making sure that international visitors have an enjoyable
experience is the key to the future of the tourism industry.
Visitors that have the experience of a lifetime while on holiday in
New Zealand are more likely to recommend the destination to other
people or return for a second visit themselves.
Conducted annually, the Visitor Experience Monitor
provides a benchmark for the New Zealand tourism industry from
which to improve the experiences it offers visitors.
Overall experience
During 2008/09 visitors from Australia were reasonably satisfied
with their holiday in New Zealand, with satisfaction rated at 8.7
out of 10. This result was consistent with previous years. The vast
majority of Australian visitors (98 per cent) said they were likely
to recommend New Zealand as a holiday destination.
Visitors from Australia said they were more likely to speak or
write positively about New Zealand when speaking to others in
person (99 per cent); when sending emails, instant messages or
letters to individuals (60 per cent); or sharing their opinions in
online forums such as blogs, discussions or social networking
websites (7 per cent).
Accommodation
Australians rated their satisfaction with accommodation in New
Zealand as 8.5 out of 10, which is close to the overall average for
all markets (8.4).
Within the area of accommodation, Australian visitors rated
quality of facilities and amenities 8.2 out of 10, quality of
service 8.3 and price 8.0. All of these ratings were in line with
average ratings for all markets.
Food and beverage
Food and beverage was the area with the lowest satisfaction for
visitors from Australia. The overall satisfaction score for food
and beverage was 8.2 out of 10, slightly higher than satisfaction
with food and beverage across all markets (8.1).
Within the area of food and beverage, visitors rated quality of
food and beverage 8.0 out of 10, quality of service 8.0, and price
7.7. All three aspects received similar satisfaction ratings to the
average for all markets.
Transport
Visitors from Australia are reasonably satisfied with transport
in New Zealand. Overall this area received a satisfaction rating of
8.5 out of 10 from Australian visitors, which is slightly higher
than the average from all markets of 8.4.
Satisfaction with the price of transport (rated 8.1 out of 10)
was slightly lower than other aspects of transport, including
comfort, safety and reliability (8.4) and quality of service (8.3).
Once again the satisfaction levels of all transport aspects are in
line with the average for all markets.
Activities
Of all the aspects of a New Zealand holiday, visitors from
Australia are most satisfied with activities (rated 9.0 out of 10).
Overall satisfaction with activities was 8.9 out of 10 for all
other markets.
Visitors from Australia were highly satisfied with two aspects
of activities in New Zealand: quality of the actual activity (8.6)
and quality of service (8.5). Satisfaction with price of activities
was lower at 8.0, but still slightly higher than the average for
all markets (7.8).
The New Zealand environment
Australian visitors rated their satisfaction with New Zealand's
environment at 8.9 out of 10, which is also the average across all
markets for this aspect of a New Zealand holiday.
Visitors from Australia were highly satisfied with New Zealand's
natural landscapes and scenery (rated 9.5 out of 10), our clean and
unpolluted environment (9.1) and un-crowded spaces (8.9). The
weather (7.8) and vibrant urban atmosphere (7.9) rated lower but
were still on par with levels of satisfaction seen across other
markets.
Safety
Australian visitors rated their personal safety in New Zealand
highly at 8.7 out of 10. This is the same as the overall average
across all markets for this aspect.
Road safety was rated comparatively low (8.0) by Australia
visitors, while personal safety in country areas (8.9), safety
standards of activities (8.7) and personal safety in urban areas
(8.5) were all rated as highly satisfying.
Holiday planning
The majority of visitors from Australia (91 per cent) decided
what they would do on their holiday after they had made the
decision to come to New Zealand. Conversely, nearly 9 per cent of
Australian visitors decided the type of holiday they wanted, and
then chose New Zealand as their destination.
The factors that had the most influence on Australian visitors'
decisions to come to New Zealand were the natural scenery (22 per
cent), having friends or family here (18 per cent) or because they
perceived New Zealand as 'somewhere new' (12 per cent).
Most visitors from Australia booked their trip to New Zealand
between one and six months in advance of arriving here.
Twenty-three per cent booked one to two months before arrival, 20
per cent booked between two and three months before, and 20 per
cent booked between three and six months before.