The State Of Play in the New Zealand Tourism Industry

As Associate Minister of Tourism, I am thrilled to be able to welcome you to the opening session of the TRENZ 2009 media programme. I know we've got a big overseas media presence here, and you're of course especially welcome, as your role in telling people in your home markets about what's happening in New Zealand Tourism as absolutely vital to the industry here. I know many of you have travelled long distances to be here but I'm confident TRENZ 2009 is going to put on a show that makes it worth your while and that the next three days will provide you all with plenty of fantastic copy.

It's also great of course to have our own domestic media here, covering the event, as of course your role in telling people why they should be holidaying here in NZ is very important to the industry as well.

TRENZ is by far the most important event on the New Zealand  tourism industry calendar with around $2billion of business being done over three days.  It's been going since the early 1960s and since that time has grown into one of New Zealand's most significant trade shows. Well done to the organisers for pulling together what is going to be another superb event.

The Kiwis will have heard me say it before, but for those of you who are visitors to our shores, I cannot emphasise enough just how important tourism is in terms of the New Zealand economy. It's worth $20 billion dollars to our economy each year, contributes over 9 percent of GDP and supports 10 percent of our workforce.

The fact that the Prime Minister himself has taken the portfolio indicates how serious the Government is about making sure that the industry has the attention and input it needs at the highest level of Government.

There is no escaping the fact that the global economy is facing very challenging times right now. Disposable income is down for families right across the globe, and with the drop in economic confidence, people are focussing on paying down debt and cutting back on the perceived non-essentials.  Unsurprisingly, travel becomes less of a priority for many, and we are certainly seeing the effects in many of our long-haul markets, despite the fact that airline seats are the cheapest they've been in years.

However it's not all bad news. In terms of our major market, Australia, arrivals are up by 11, 600 people in April, a massive 22 percent on the same month last year. True, the timing of Easter was a factor, but Tourism New Zealand's recent increased push across the Tasman with the What's On campaign combined with cheap trans-Tasman airfares to play a major part.

What's more, it's going to be a bumper snow season this year, and we're confident that should encourage more Australians to ski here rather than travel further afield.

A really positive fact is that while arrivals are down, spend by our international visitors is holding firm at just over $6 billion per annum. This is because in recent times our New Zealand dollar has softened, making pounds, US dollars, Euros, the Yen and Yuan go further, and that's been in our favour.

Domestic travel is very healthy with spend in the year to December up 6.2 percent to $8.1 billion. There have also been increases in day and overnight trips. With prices being more competitive in New Zealand, a weak dollar, and falling petrol prices, Kiwis are opting to stay home.

And a recent survey of tourism operators shows that business confidence levels are holding, having remained unchanged over the last three months.

We know that when global conditions are right, tourism has the potential to lead New Zealand's economic recovery.

In the short term we are placing a heavy emphasis on marketing in Australia. Recently the government committed an additional $2.5 million to marketing in Australia. This was matched by an additional investment of $2.5 million from Air New Zealand.

For the medium to long term we are investing in infrastructure and putting the building blocks in place to create new reasons to visit New Zealand. Undoubtedly our major draw card is our outstanding natural environment and we know that is why people come here in the first place. They want to immerse themselves in it and are constantly looking for new and exciting ways to do this.

New Zealand is well established as an adventure tourism destination, but we've got to keep offering new experiences and coming up with new ideas to keep ahead of the international pack in Tourism terms.  In response to  the world recession, the government held a Job Summit in February this year. The aim was to generate ideas to create jobs. One of the most exciting and enduring ideas to come out of that summit was the idea to develop a national cycleway. The public interest has been enormous and I have personally been overwhelmed with the level of enthusiasm - I believe that this idea has captured the imagination of the nation.

Government has committed $50 million over the next three years to develop a network of great rides around New Zealand. These cycleways will be a new product offering and will attract visitors who seek a softer form of adventure in our beautiful landscape. It will diversify New Zealand's tourism product mix, giving visitors a further reason to visit in a way that complements our 100 % Pure brand image. It will enable them to meet more real kiwis and experience the fantastic hospitality we are renowned for.

Domestic tourists will also benefit hugely from the new product, giving them further reasons to holiday at home and explore their own back yard.

The Prime Minister also recently announced funding to undertake a feasibility study to scope the proposal of a new state of the art convention centre in Auckland. A new convention centre would be able to cater for much larger conventions than we can now, and would create a great new reason for business travellers to visit our shores.

The other thing which the government is looking to do is make it as easy as possible to cross the Tasman.  The Prime Minister has held discussions with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and agreed to streamline customs and security procedures at our respective borders. We are aiming to drastically reduce processing times. Combined with a proposed new convention centre, this will have huge benefits and make it easier for Australians to attend conferences in New Zealand.

Beyond that, this government has made a strong commitment to improving the country's infrastructure. Transport is a number one priority, particularly in Auckland; our broadband policy will ensure state of the art connectivity for international visitors.

Of course the 2011 Rugby World Cup presents a major opportunity for New Zealand. The eyes of the world will be on us in 2011 and thousands of rugby fans will be here in person. It is an outstanding opportunity for New Zealand to sell itself to the world. The benefits will be spread right throughout New Zealand's regions as games and visitors move around the country. Win or lose the actual tournament, we will be the hosts for the full six weeks and only by accepting and fulfilling this responsibility as well as we can will we make the most of the event.

There's a number of aspects to making that tournament a success for New Zealand- there's having an outstanding playing tournament, there's having a range of fantastic activities off the field for visitors to enjoy - the concept of a nationwide festival and a stadium of four million people. More than that though are the legacy benefits that the nation must capitalise on- not only physical infrastructure benefits, but the opportunity to use the tournament as an enduring tourism advertisement for New Zealand. It's a chance for New Zealand to exhibit itself to a global television audience- publicity that money just can't buy. It's also important that the estimated 70,000 visitors become so enamoured of the country that they encourage thousands more to come.

New Zealand spends $70 million per year on tourism marketing. Across our international tourism markets Tourism New Zealand have to use their good ole Kiwi ingenuity to stretch this money as far as they can.

We are a word of mouth, guidebook, personal touch and boutique type destination. The columns, the articles, websites and blogs that you, the media write are priceless to us - that is  of course assuming they are positive! The marketing you generate for us is invaluable and I want to acknowledge that your work plays a significant role in driving our tourism market and therefore our economy.

While we are talking about the media, I am very excited to be able to announce this morning that Australia's very popular Channel 9 Today show is on its way to New Zealand. This is quite a coup for Tourism New Zealand - it is the first time Today has broadcast the show from outside Australia since 2005 when it went to the UK. Between June 22 and 26, Today's weatherman Steven Jacobs will present live weather broadcasts every half hour and on 29 and 30 June the Today team's presenters will travel to New Zealand and broadcast the show live from the Queenstown Winter Festival. To get this degree of reach and penetration over such an extended period of time is very good news.

I trust that over these three days and during your post TRENZ visits around New Zealand you will not be short of material to write about. I encourage you to stay as long as you can and come back as often as you can. As you will see just by walking around the exhibition stands there is always something new and exciting on offer in New Zealand. And I urge you to return in September 2011 to be part of the Rugby World Cup. It's going to be a party like we've never seen before in New Zealand.

Thank you and have a fantastic TRENZ.