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 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 (VEM) provides a benchmark for the New Zealand tourism
industry from which to improve the experiences it offers
visitors.
Summary
Visitors from Germany remained highly satisfied with their
holidays to New Zealand in 2011/12, rating them an average of 9.2
out of 10. This level of satisfaction is the second highest of any
individual market and was stable compared to last year's rating of
9.3.
In a continuing trend from last year, German visitors were most
satisfied with the activities they did while in New Zealand (rated
9.1 out of 10), their personal safety in New Zealand (rated 9.1 out
of 10) and New Zealand's environment (rated 8.9 out of 10). German
tourists were least satisfied with the food and beverage they
received while in New Zealand (rated 7.6 out of 10) largely due to
price related issues.
Visitors from Germany place a huge amount of importance on the
activities they do in New Zealand with this component of a trip
making up 37 per cent of their overall satisfaction. New Zealand's
environment also makes up a significant amount of their
satisfaction at 24 per cent, an increase of 3 per cent on last
year.
German visitors continue to be heavy users of i-SITES with 77 per
cent using i-SITES in the past year; a 2 per cent increase on last
year. This is against an all-visitors figure of 56 per cent.
The overall satisfaction of i-SITES from the German market for
2011/12 is 8.9 out of 10, a level which has been maintained for the
past three years.
The typical profile of a New Zealand holiday by a German visitor
has not changed significantly compared to last year with usage
patterns of transport and accommodation staying the same.
Satisfaction levels of activities have been maintained for the
second year in a row, however levels associated with the price of
activities have dropped when compared with last year.
On average, German visitors stay the longest, visit the most
regions and participate in the most activities, which contributes
significantly to their high levels of overall satisfaction. This
tendency to take longer, more involved visits enhances German
visitors overall satisfaction beyond what would be expected from
the individual components - this positive halo impact on the
overall experience demonstrates the need for each small part of the
experience to work together to deliver a greater overall
experience
For further information on the Germany market download the German VEM market
summary below.