Japan

Market Overview Japan is New Zealand's fifth largest market for international tourists and one of the highest spending markets. However, growth in visitor numbers is declining.

Japan Market Update Jason Hill, Regional Manager Japan - August 2008 VIEW MARKET UPDATE

Japan remains an important source of visitors from Asia, with the highest proportion of leisure visitors of any of our key markets. Seventy-eight per cent of Japanese visitors to New Zealand travel here on holiday.

However, total outbound travel from Japan has been in decline since June 2005 and visitor numbers to New Zealand have been impacted significantly, as they have for many other long-haul markets. In the year ending July 2008, 114,357 visitors came to New Zealand from Japan, 6.5 per cent less than the previous year. This figure is expected to continue to decrease annually by 1.5 per cent between 2008 and 2014.

Sixty-nine per cent of Japanese visitors are visiting New Zealand for the first time, with about the same percentage of visitors indicating they would like to travel to New Zealand again in the future. The destination is particularly popular with older travellers.

Demand for higher quality and higher yielding products has firmed up in recent months, signalling that the affluent sector of the senior travel market still has a strong preference for New Zealand. A key change is the move away from coach tours into the fully independent traveller market.

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