Hospitality New Zealand says the strong performance of our tourism sector is a huge boom for the hospitality industry which in turn is determined to ensure the growing number of international visitors feel welcome here. HNZ fully supports the recent Government initiatives – including the increased investment in Budget 2013, the Tourism NZ Roadshows and the successful launch of The New Zealand Story campaign – which have helped produce strong growth figures in our key markets.
Peter Morrison, Hospitality New Zealand tourism spokesperson and National Treasurer, said the latest figures showed the Government was serious about supporting tourism and its approach was paying dividends. “The Government has poured new investment into growing emerging markets, attracting more international events, attracting very high value visitors and lifting the tourism yield overall. The hospitality industry is excited to see growth in the emerging markets of Indonesia and Latin America, growth and rebalancing in the Chinese market and, perhaps most importantly, the number of Australians travelling across the ditch trending up strongly, thanks in part to successful new tourism campaigns and more flights from Perth. That is all good news for the more than 2,400 hospitality businesses represented by HNZ,” said Mr Morrison.
Mr Morrison noted the recent growth was even before the much anticipated launch of The Desolation of Smaug. “Like most Kiwis, the hospo industry is excited about the impending release of the second Hobbit movie, both as a film and all the people it will bring to our shores. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first Hobbit film, this movie is proven to attract thousands of people to New Zealand and our local businesses,” said Mr Morrison.
Hospitality New Zealand members already provide visitors with quality accommodation, food and refreshments. However, Mr Morrison said HNZ was determined to make finding top class hospitality easier with the launch of their new website -?www.kiwihospitality.co.nz. This mobile friendly website makes it easy for visitors to find restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, motels and more.
“Hospitality New Zealand supports the tourism sector because more visitors means more customers. It is a win-win situation and we, as a responsible industry, are prepared to do our part in creating a great New Zealand experience for visiting tourists,” said Mr Morrison.