Millbrook in New Zealand: amazing and empty
Spending by domestic travelers in New Zealand fell by $507 million or 6.4% to $7.39 billion in the year to June 2008, new research from the New Zealand Ministry of Tourism shows.
The biggest overseas loss came from China. Visitors from there dropped by a third, falling by 2,700 to 5,497 in September.
Ministry research manager Bruce Bassett said, ‘Weaker economic conditions and high fuel costs during the period are being reflected in a reduction in demand for travel, including domestic travel.’
The number of overnight trips fell by 5.5% from the previous year to 14.4 million trips, while the number of day trips dropped 15.5% to 25.9 million.
If the price of fuel stayed down in coming months, Bassett expected to see an increase in domestic activity, particularly in the number of day trips.
This research comes the same week that Statistics NZ unveiled a big drop in the number of international visitors last month.
It said tourist numbers fell 6.6 %, or 11,100 people, in September compared with the same month last year — the equivalent of 25 jumbo jets full of passengers.
Source: New Zealand Herald
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