New Zealand's high dollar is making it more pricey for tourists, hurting the word-of-mouth recommendations when they get home, tourism research suggests.
About 2.6 million people visit each year and tourism is worth $9.7 billion to the economy.
The bulk of them are visiting friends and family, and while appreciating the scenery, were a little disappointed with the weather last summer, according to Tourism New Zealand's Visitor Experience Monitor, released on Tuesday.
It summed the responses of 4566 visitors who came here in 2011/12. On average they rated their New Zealand visit 8.9 out of 10 for satisfaction, the same figure as the previous year, which was slightly down on the year before that.
"Essentially we are holding steady with tourists' satisfaction with New Zealand," said corporate affairs general manager Chris Roberts.
However, the proportion very likely to recommend others visit had slipped from 82 per cent in 2009/10 to 79 per cent.
They were less than happy with the cost of accommodation and food, and even less pleased with our fast food outlets, which with a rating of 6.9, was one of the lowest satisfaction responses in the survey.
The high New Zealand dollar - in 2009 it dropped under US50 cents but has now risen to about US82 cents - was blamed for making things more expensive.
That has also hit the number of regions tourists visit and the the number of activities they take on. Two years ago they were averaging 16 activities per trip, but that has now dropped to below 13.
The top-ranked attractions were bush walks, mountain climbing, caving, photography and sports events, while the least satisfactory activities were visiting the Sky Tower, eating out, skiing, nightlife and shopping.
Mr Roberts said there were no concerning trends about how tourists perceive the environment.
While there had been tourist deaths, tourists were also not showing any concern about the safety of the activities.
Most were happy with their safety - unless they were on the road, where New Zealanders' aggression was a common talking point.
49 Comments
I've been to NZ and I'm from America, I can't even believe someone has something bad to say about such a beautiful country. Everyone there was friendly and the food.. OMG I can't say enough about the South Island and Voodoo Cafe. I was there when the US dollar got more but I can honestly say that everything there is fairly priced. After all going on vacation that far away you've got to expect some expenses and exchange rates are no secret. You can look them up before you travel and plan accordingly.
Replymy sister just came back from Europe. $8 just to access the beach!! At least our beaches are FREE & uncrowded. as for the people, 20euros to have your photo taken with them dressed up as roman soldier using another tourist as photographer & using her camera, thats a ripoff.
ReplyIf you want to experience great service you should try the most recent incarnations of NZ rail & ferry travel. I recently completed over 2000 km in NZ - train Auck to Wellington, ferry to Picton, train to Chch, train to Greymouth and then return of the whole thing. Wonderful personnel, really nice new trains. Cost not too bad (14 day travel pass plus back packers). My favourite bit? FRESH scones, jam and cream served at our seats, with proper coffee - all for $7 - on the Picton ferry. Could hardly be more different from 50 years ago when railferries began!!!!
Replytourists unhappy with prices? poor buggers !!! now they know what we felt like when our dollar was down to hell !! In 1990 we toured europe, USA, and Canada, prices were that high we had to eat mainly food we made and cooked ourselves because bought food was so darned expensive,and as far as souvenirs went they were astronomically priced,so dont let me hear tourists are unhappy with NZ prices.
Replywe are the pleadians
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