Tourism Minister Predicts "Significant" Tourist Yield Growth

Tourism Minister, Murray McCully, has returned from a six day visit to the United Kingdom, Europe and North America confident that growth in those markets will "go some way toward cushioning the downturn in some Asian markets".

Mr McCully says he is confident of "some growth in arrival numbers and significant growth in yield for 1998". While the United Kingdom grew by 7% for us last year, we suffered some decline in Europe and North America.

"I am confident we can maintain growth in arrivals from the United Kingdom, and that we have turned the corner in Europe and North America."

"The drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar makes us more competitive in our traditional markets, and gives us an opportunity to significantly increase our earnings, even off relatively static arrival numbers."

Mr McCully said New Zealand would need to "toughen up" its marketing strategies.

"We are a very small player on the world tourism stage. We have a great product with an excellent reputation, but we have to work harder at making our small budget count. We have to be in their faces if we want to be noticed."

The Minister, who was accompanied by the New Zealand Tourism Board Chief Executive, Paul Winter, says that a "major increase in activity" will be required over the next two years.

"Interest in the Millennium, the America's Cup, and the Olympics is very high."

"The value of those events to New Zealand lies not just in some increased visitor numbers next year and the year after, but in the opportunity we have to build a profile which will give us benefits for the following five years."

Mr McCully said he and the Board would be giving visiting media and public relations programmes a major review.

"In areas like this we will have to vastly increase our efforts if we are to do justice to the opportunities ahead of us."