China

Market Overview China is an enormous opportunity for New Zealand tourism, with the world's largest population and a fast-growing middle class.

China Market Update Mark Frood, Regional Manager North Asia - August 2008 VIEW MARKET UPDATE

China is New Zealand's fastest-growing tourism market, which is a reflection of the rapid economic development that this country is currently experiencing. There are a growing number of wealthy Chinese keen to travel more.

The launch of Air New Zealand's direct flights to Beijing from July 2008 is expected to boost this market further and will help promote New Zealand as a single holiday destination, rather than being an add-on to Australia.

China is New Zealand’s fourth largest tourism market, with 122,916 visitors in the year ended July 2008, a 5.2 per cent increase on the previous year. This number is expected to rise on average by 8.7 per cent annually between 2008 and 2014.

With personal incomes rising at between 10-15 per cent each year, Chinese consumers are spending their disposable income on leisure activities including travel. Some 34 million Chinese travelled abroad last year, which made the country the largest outbound market in Asia.

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