China

Market Overview

China's continued economic strength and growing middle-class saw sustained growth in Chinese visitor arrivals to New Zealand during 2011. In addition, new, direct air routes linking the Asian region to New Zealand helped increase the number of outbound travellers from China and will help maintain the acceleration of Chinese arrivals in the near future.

Tourism New Zealand's marketing in China targets consumers who are aware of New Zealand and are already considering travelling to our country. The '100% Pure New Zealand' campaign is central to this strategy and promotes the amazing experiences available within New Zealand to motivate travelers to book their trip. This is underpinned by substantial trade development programmes which work with provider's in-market to package the unique experiences for Chinese travellers to purchase.

Establishing a quality end-to-end travel experience is the core focus for Tourism New Zealand's China Market Development Unit based in China and New Zealand. In place since 2007, the team monitors the quality of tours run as part of the Approved Destination Status (ADS) programme to ensure Chinese visitors enjoy quality holiday experiences in New Zealand, helping to drive the long-term growth of this market.

Key Statistics

International Visitor Arrivals March 2012

Year End Total 160,268 23.7%
Year End (Holiday) 110,328 25.4%
Month End Total 19,200 82.3%
Month End (Holiday) 14,544 102.0%
Total Stay Days* 2,837,896
Total Stay Days (Holiday)* 675,484
Average Length of Stay* 17.7 day
Average Length of Stay (Holiday)* 6.1 days

International Visitor Survey - YE March 2012

Average Expenditure per Visit NZD3,200
Total Expenditure per Annum NZD473m

Market Insights

The optimistic outlook for continued growth has been confirmed with the increase of airline services and capacity over the summer high season. Direct services between China to New Zealand...

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Want to know more?

For more information including tourism research and data, policy, and publications please see the Ministry of Economic Development.