Aussies flock to NZ but spend less

Australians might be coming here in their droves but they are keeping their spending tightly in check.

Ministry of Tourism figures show spending by visitors from our largest source market fell 3.3 per cent, or $56 million, in the year to June despite a 4 per cent increase in the number crossing the ditch.

The New Zealand Government pumped extra money into attracting Australian visitors this year to counter the drop from long-haul markets but it seems to be attracting lower-spending tourists.

Ministry of Tourism head of research Bruce Bassett said the fall in Australians' spending was because more people were coming to visit their friends and relatives instead of for a holiday.

"A lot of Australians just come for a short stay," he said.

Despite the fall, Bassett said the Australian market underpinned the tourism industry and as a nation Aussies spent $1.637 billion of the total $6.016 billion in the year to June.

Australia wasn't the only country to contribute to a $161 million drop in tourism dollars.

Spending by British visitors plummeted $188 million to the lowest level in the past five years - a drop of 18.6 per cent to $826 million.

Bassett said Britain had always been a stable source of income for the tourism industry but the numbers showed how hard the economic downturn was hitting the market.

Spending by American tourists was also down, falling by $11 million, or 1.7 per cent, to $608 million.

But one market which had surprised was China. Despite falling visitor numbers, spending had increased 28 per cent to $334 million.

Bassett said that was because short-haul leisure travellers from China had dropped off but those coming to study for longer periods had jumped, boosting spending levels.

Tourism spending for educational reasons jumped 42.9 per cent in the past year, growing $188 million to $627 million.

But that was not enough to overcome the drop in spending by those coming for business or to visit friends and relatives. Spending in that category fell $177 million to $1.085 billion despite an increase in those coming to visit family and friends.

Bassett said that was driven by fewer long-haul visitors who spent more.

Despite the drop Bassett said it was still worthwhile chasing after the family and friends market as they were seen as having a high awareness of New Zealand and a higher propensity to come here.

Tourism New Zealand has started the Great Kiwi Invite campaign, encouraging people to invite their friends and family to New Zealand.

Economist Shane Vuletich said the drop in tourism spending was better than expected.

"$160 million is obviously a huge sum of money when viewed in isolation. But as a percentage of tourism earnings it's quite minor - it's a lot smaller than what was expected 12 months ago."

Vuletich believed the situation could have been worse if there had not been such a strong commercial response.

Airlines had dropped their prices to fill seats at their own expense and that had kept people coming into the country.

He said tourism businesses had been affected in different ways. Those in the coach and tour market had been hit hardest but anyone serving the Australian and the domestic markets was "laughing".

Bassett said it was difficult to forecast where spending would be in the next year but he expected it to continue to closely follow visitor arrivals.

Arrivals were down 2.8 per cent in the June year compared with the 2.6 per cent drop in spending.

The Ministry of Tourism expects arrivals to return to growth in the latter half of next year.