Visitor Experience Monitor - US

Last Updated on: 22 December 2011

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

Satisfaction with a New Zealand holiday was extremely high among US visitors in 2010/11. US visitors' satisfaction rating of 9.4 out of 10 is the highest of all the major markets. This level of satisfaction is stable compared to a year ago.

Visitors from the US were most satisfied with the activities they did while in New Zealand and equally satisfied with the New Zealand environment, rating both of these components 9.4 out of 10. The area where US visitors were least satisfied was food and beverage which was given an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. The low score food and beverage received was primarily led by price especially at supermarkets and fast food outlets. Quality of food and beverage did not seem to be an issue, of which US visitors rated relatively highly.

In terms of determining overall satisfaction, activities had the largest bearing for US visitors with this component making up 42 per cent of overall satisfaction. The next most important determinant of overall satisfaction was the New Zealand environment which makes up 21 per cent of overall satisfaction.

In 2010/11 US visitors travelled to New Zealand for a shorter amount of time and participated in fewer activities, which has been driven by smaller travel budgets and also a change in visitor mix from younger independent travelers to older less independent travelers.

Reflective of this, hotels and coach tours were more heavily used, with cheaper forms of accommodation less likely to be used.

For further information on the US market download the US VEM Market Summary below.