During 2008/09 visitors from Germany were among the most
satisfied of all our international visitors. They rated their New
Zealand holiday experience 9.2 out of 10 and most are 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 Germany were among the most
satisfied with their holiday in New Zealand. Overall, they rated
their holiday experience 9.2 out of 10, which is consistent with
previous years. The majority of German visitors (96 per cent) said
they were likely to recommend New Zealand as a holiday
destination.
Visitors from Germany said they were more likely to speak or
write positively about New Zealand when speaking to others in
person (98 per cent); when sending emails, instant messages or
letters to individuals (64 per cent); or sharing their opinions in
online forums such as blogs, discussions or social networking
websites (11 per cent).
Accommodation
Among the seven areas mentioned above, accommodation had one of
the lowest overall satisfaction ratings among visitors from
Germany. However, with a rating of 8.4 out of 10, this was
consistent with satisfaction with accommodation across all markets
(8.4 out of 10).
With regard to accommodation, visitors from Germany rated
quality of facilities and amenities 7.9 out of 10, quality of
service 7.9, and price 7.8. The rating of 7.9 out of 10 for service
was lower than the overall rating for this aspect across all other
markets (8.2 out of 10).
Food and beverage
Food and beverage was the area with the lowest satisfaction for
visitors from Germany. The overall satisfaction score for food and
beverage was 8.2 out of 10. Although lower than other areas, this
score was slightly higher than satisfaction with food and beverage
across all markets (8.1 out of 10).
Within the area of food and beverage, visitors rated quality of
food and beverage 7.9 out of 10, quality of service 7.9, and price
7.8. Ratings for all three of these aspects were in line with the
average across all markets.
Transport
Visitors from Germany are reasonably satisfied with transport in
New Zealand. Overall, this area received a satisfaction rating of
8.3 out of 10, which is in line with the score for all markets of
8.4.
Satisfaction with the price of transport (rated 7.7 out of 10)
was slightly lower than other aspects of transport, including
comfort, safety and reliability (8.3) and quality of service (8.2).
Satisfaction with each of these aspects is in line with other
markets.
Lower satisfaction with price for transportation is driven by
German visitors' higher use of campervans and a lower level of
satisfaction with regard to price for this type of
transportation.
Activities
Of all the aspects of a New Zealand holiday, visitors from
Germany are most satisfied with activities (rated 9.1 out of 10).
In comparison, overall satisfaction with activities was 8.9 out of
10 for all other markets.
Visitors from Germany had high satisfaction levels across two
aspects of activities in New Zealand: quality of the actual
activity (8.5) and quality of service (8.3). Satisfaction with
price of activities was lower at 7.5, which is also lower than the
average for all markets.
The New Zealand environment
German visitors rated their satisfaction with New Zealand's
environment at 8.7 out of 10, similar to the overall satisfaction
rating for visitors from all markets (8.9).
Visitors from Germany were highly satisfied with New Zealand's
natural landscapes and scenery (rated 9.5 out of 10) and uncrowded
spaces (8.6). Vibrant urban atmosphere (at 7.0 out of 10) and roads
and driving experience (7.6) were rated lower than the average for
all markets.
German visitors are highly satisfied with New Zealand's clean
and unpolluted environment, rating this aspect 8.7 out of 10, but
this rating was lower than the average across all markets
(9.1).
Safety
German visitors rated their personal safety in New Zealand more
highly than all other markets, with a rating of 9.0 out of 10
compared with the overall score for all markets of 8.7.
Road safety was rated comparatively low at 7.8 out of 10, while
personal safety in country areas (8.9), safety standards of
activities (8.9) and personal safety in urban areas (8.5) all had
strong levels of satisfaction.
Holiday planning
The majority of visitors from Germany (85 per cent) decided what
they would do on their holiday after they had made the decision to
come to New Zealand. Conversely, nearly 15 per cent of visitors
from Germany decided the type of holiday they wanted, and then
chose New Zealand as their destination.
The factors that had the most influence on German visitors'
decisions to come to New Zealand were the natural scenery (46 per
cent) or because they perceived New Zealand as 'somewhere new' (21
per cent).
Most visitors from Germany booked their trip to New Zealand
between three and twelve months in advance of arriving here. Close
to half (43 per cent) booked three to six months before arrival and
28 per cent booked six to twelve months before arrival.