Visitors still satisfied in New Zealand
Overall satisfaction with a New Zealand holiday is unchanged at
8.9 out of 10. There has been a slight decrease of 1 per cent, to
79 per cent, in the proportion of visitors 'very likely' to
recommend New Zealand; however the proportion of people 'likely' to
recommend New Zealand has remained constant at 96 per cent.
Results for 2011/12 remain strong with only slight changes on
last year's results. The results of this year's survey reflect
significant travel trends as well as valuable insights for
industry.
On average, visitors from the USA, UK and Germany are most
satisfied with their New Zealand holiday experience, while Korean
travellers are the least satisfied. Japanese travellers are
significantly more satisfied this past year, than the year
before
Digital technology increases in importance for
travellers
Travellers use of new forms of technology increased significantly
in 2011/2012, particularly the use of Wi-Fi (47 per cent of
travellers), own laptops and iPads (44 per cent of travellers)
Smart Phones (28 per cent of travellers) and mobile phones
with a New Zealand SIM card (23 per cent of travellers).
There has also been a significant increase in the number of
visitors engaging with social media to plan and share, both during
and post travel. Facebook has emerged as the most commonly
used social media tool for sharing New Zealand holiday experiences.
Four in ten international tourists use Facebook while within New
Zealand and the same number use it to share their experiences once
they have returned home.
This reflects the continued importance of digital technology in
the travel industry. Tourists are now engaging with digital media
prior to and throughout the travel process. This demonstrates a
growing opportunity for tourism operators to meet their visitors'
needs online.
Natural environment a draw card for visitors that
satisfies highly
Visitors were highly satisfied (9.0 out of 10) with New Zealand's
natural environment during the period July 2011 to June 2012. This
level of satisfaction is consistent with last year's results and
the component of a New Zealand experience that receives the highest
rating across all markets.
New Zealand also continues to deliver well in terms of visitors'
perceptions of environmental practices. In 2011/12, 78 per cent of
visitors believed New Zealand's environmental practices to be
better than other countries, with only one per cent believing they
are worse than other countries.
Experiencing natural scenery a favourite for
travellers
This year's results have seen a continued decrease in the number
of activities participated in while on holiday across all markets,
except Germany, China and Japan.
The past year has seen a 6.5 per cent decrease in the average
number of activities international visitors are participating in,
from 16.0 in 2009/10, 13.8 activities in 2010/11 to 12.9 activities
in 2011/12.
This year's results have also seen continued high levels of
satisfaction with scenic and natural attractions such as bush
walks, mountain climbing and photography. Urban-based activities
such as restaurants, shopping and bars received lower levels of
satisfaction when compared to those involving natural scenery
however still generated relatively high scores overall.
Quality of services improving, but its price that's the
problem
Results this year have shown a slight decrease in the overall
level of satisfaction with accommodation and food and beverage.
This is primarily driven by lower satisfaction with price, rather
than quality. The accommodation and food and beverage categories
are both rated as of high importance to visitors attributing to a
combined 29 per cent of visitors overall satisfaction score.
Accommodation scored 8.3 out of 10, down from 8.4 in 2010/11.
Price of accommodation was scored 7.8 out of 10, down from last
year's 8.0.
Despite seeing an increase in satisfaction with the quality of
services in 2011/12, satisfaction with Food and Beverage was down
to 8.0 out of 10 from last year's 8.1. Price was identified as the
main factor for the decrease with visitors scoring satisfaction
with the price of food and beverage 7.1 out of 10.
New Zealand still seen as safe
Overall satisfaction with safety in New Zealand was high in
2011/12, with international visitors scoring it 8.8 out of a
possible 10. This is an increase from 8.7 in 2012/11.
An area within safety where international visitors were not quite
as satisfied was road safety which was rated 8.2 out of 10 in
2011/12 however this was an increase on last year's score of 8.1
out of 10.
Satisfaction with the safety and standard of activities remains
high at 8.7 out of 10, consistent on last year's results.