During 2008/09 visitors from the US were more satisfied with
their holiday in New Zealand than any other market. Overall, they
rated their holiday experience 9.4 out of 10, which is consistent
with previous years.
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 the US were more satisfied with
their holiday in New Zealand than any other market. Overall, they
rated their holiday experience 9.4 out of 10, which is consistent
with previous years. The majority of visitors from the US (97 per
cent) said they were likely to recommend New Zealand as a holiday
destination.
Visitors from the US 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 (75 per cent); or sharing their opinions in
online forums such as blogs, discussions or social networking
websites (8 per cent).
Accommodation
Among the seven areas mentioned above, accommodation had one of
the lowest overall satisfaction ratings among visitors from the US.
However, with a rating of 8.8 out of 10, this was still higher than
satisfaction with accommodation across all markets (8.4 out of
10).
With regard to accommodation, visitors from the US rated quality
of facilities and amenities at 8.5 out of 10, quality of service at
8.6, and price at 8.3.
Food and beverage
Food and beverage was the area with the lowest satisfaction for
visitors from the US. The overall satisfaction score for food and
beverage was 8.4 out of 10. Although lower than other areas, this
score was still 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 8.2 out of 10, quality of service 8.2, and price
7.9. Satisfaction with all of these aspects was higher for visitors
from the US than all other markets.
Transport
Visitors from the US are reasonably satisfied with transport in
New Zealand. Overall, this area received a satisfaction rating of
8.9 out of 10, higher than the score for all markets of 8.4.
Satisfaction with price (rated 8.3 out of 10) was slightly lower
than other aspects of transport, including comfort, safety and
reliability (8.8) and quality of service (8.9). However,
satisfaction with these aspects of transport was higher for
visitors from the US than all other markets.
Activities
Of all the aspects of a New Zealand holiday, visitors from the
US are most satisfied with activities (rated 9.4 out of 10). In
comparison, overall satisfaction with activities was 8.9 out of 10
for all other markets.
Visitors from the US had consistently high satisfaction levels
across all aspects of activities in New Zealand, including quality
of the actual activity (8.9) and quality of service (9.0).
Satisfaction with price of activities was lower at 8.4, but this is
still higher than all markets.
The New Zealand environment
Visitors from the US are very satisfied with New Zealand's
environment. The overall satisfaction score of 9.2 out of 10 was
higher than the score across all other markets (8.9).
Visitors from the US are highly satisfied with our natural
landscapes and scenery (rated 9.6 out of 10), our clean, unpolluted
environment (9.3), and uncrowded spaces (9.2). In comparison,
satisfaction with vibrant urban atmospheres was relatively low at
8.3 out of 10, but this aspect was still rated more highly by US
visitors than all other markets.
Safety
US visitors rated their personal safety in New Zealand more
highly than all other markets, with a rating of 9.3 out of 10
compared with the overall score for all markets of 8.7.
Road safety was rated comparatively low at 8.4 out of 10, while
personal safety in country areas (9.4), personal safety in urban
areas (9.1) and safety standards of activities (9.0) all enjoyed
strong levels of satisfaction.
Holiday planning
The majority of visitors from the US (91 per cent) decided what
they would do on their holiday after they had made the decision to
come to New Zealand. Conversely, nearly 10 per cent of visitors
from the US decided the type of holiday they wanted, and then chose
New Zealand as their destination.
The factors that had the most influence on US visitors'
decisions to come to New Zealand were having friends or family here
(21 per cent), the natural scenery (20 per cent) or because they
perceived New Zealand as 'somewhere new' (15 per cent).
Most visitors from the US booked their trip to New Zealand
between one and six months in advance of arriving here. Thirty per
cent booked between three and six months before arrival, and 21 per
cent booked between two and three months before arrival.