The US economy began to show signs of recovery in late 2009,
with the stock market and housing markets stabilising, and the
outlook for employment improving. However, recovery will...
Market Overview
The US is an important source market for New Zealand in terms of
both total visitor arrivals and expenditure. Research indicates
that New Zealand offers a very enjoyable experience for US visitors
- in 2008/09 visitors from the US were more satisfied with their
New Zealand holidays than visitors from all other markets.
Despite a relatively short length of stay compared to most
Europeans, two thirds of Americans travel beyond the main tourist
centres to the regions. The cruise market is a growing sector
for New Zealand and a third of cruise passengers in 2008/09 were
American.
One third of American holiday visitors are repeat visitors.
Historically, New Zealand has benefitted from its proximity to
Australia for first-time visitors. Just under half of the 60 per
cent of Americans that combine their trip to New Zealand with
another country will go to Australia.
Since 1999, total visitor arrivals from the US have increased by
around 17 per cent. However, from a peak of 225,000 visitors in
2006, they have dropped back in recent years due in part to the
impacts of the global economic recession. This is a trend that has
been seen by many destinations, with overall outbound travel
impacted heavily by the economic situation in the US.
Despite this, the US is the world's largest long-haul market,
with US citizens making 30.5 million trips in 2008.
Tourism New Zealand's major challenge in the US is lack of
awareness. With advertising space in this country being very
expensive, the organisation is focussed on building
celebrity-status for New Zealand through high-impact PR work in
conjunction with brand-building advertising activity.