‘Tourism recovery is well under way’: Minister Nash

Renowned Theologian and philosopher Saint Augustine once said, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

The above quote truly signifies the importance of travel and tourism in this highly globalised world that we live in. Tourism is one of the world’s most important economic sectors. It employs one in every ten people on earth and provides livelihoods to hundreds of millions more.

Today, September 27, is World Tourism Day, which endeavours to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political, and economic value.

History of World Tourism Day

The day was designated by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in September 1979, with the commemoration to commence in 1980. This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism: the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on September 27, 1970.

Talking about world tourism, it won’t be wrong to say that the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive social and economic impact on tourism for both developed and developing countries.

This year's theme of the day is "Rethinking Tourism", as it aims to inspire the debate around rethinking tourism for development, including through education and jobs, and tourism's impact on the planet and opportunities to grow more sustainably.

Interestingly, the timing of World Tourism Day is particularly appropriate as it comes at the end of the high season in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of the season in the southern hemisphere.

Tourism in NZ
NZ has been for long one of the top global tourist destinations in the world. But the Covid 19 pandemic lockdowns and border closure coupled with severe restrictions adverse impacted the NZ tourism sector which is still reeling from its effects. 

According to tourism data released by Stats NZ on September 12 for July 2022, it is for the first month since March 2020 that the number of overseas visitor arrivals to NZ exceeded 100,000. There were 134,200 overseas visitor arrivals in July 2022. It is nearly double the international arrivals from the month prior. However, the July 2022 number is just over half of the 255,600 overseas visitor arrivals in July 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the 12 months ended July 2022, there was a provisional net migration loss of 12,400 in NZ. Provisionally there were 52,100 migrant arrivals and 64,500 migrant departures, giving an annual net migration loss of 12,400.

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many countries, including NZ, to rethink their approach to tourism.

Indian Weekender spoke to Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, to know what the Government is doing to revive tourism in NZ.

‘International visitors are coming back at a strong pace’

"I know our hard-working tourism operators have had it tough these last two years due to the pandemic, but the good news is that all the data we're seeing shows that the tourism recovery is well underway.” says Nash.

International visitors are coming back at a strong pace, with American and British visitors’ card spends already at pre-Covid levels.

“The July 22 Tourism figures present a light at the end of a long tunnel, and we expect a strong uptick in visitors as we head towards summer.” says Nash.

He reveals that the Government has supported the tourism sector throughout the pandemic, working with the industry to respond to the challenges of the past two years, including the $400m Tourism Recovery Package, the $200m Tourism Communities Plan, and the $54m Innovation Programme for Tourism Recovery. “This support went to tourism operators most affected by the border closure, and has helped them to gear up for the return of international visitors,” says Nash.

It may also be noted that Tourism New Zealand also recently took a bold and creative approach to destination advertising with the launch of its first global campaign in two years named - If You Seek.

"There is intense competition as destinations ramp up campaigns to capture the imaginations of travellers. Because of our size and location, NZ will have to work hard to encourage visitation post-covid with international visitor numbers taking years to build up and Kiwis now having the option of travelling overseas," Tourism NZ chief executive René de Monchy had said.

Monchy revealed that they want to tap into the curiosity of our target high–quality travellers, who we know are adventurous and keen to dig beneath the surface of the places they visit, whether on the beaten path or not.