Tourism market on a high

Nicole Zheng, left, and Sherry Liu, from China at Hell's Gate. Photo / Stephen Parker

The number of international tourists visiting Rotorua has hit a seven-year peak, according to Destination Rotorua.

This comes as the country attracted 3 million international arrivals in the year ending July for the first time.

Destination Rotorua general manager marketing Oscar Nathan said the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment did not provide figures on actual visitor arrivals on a regional basis but all contributing statistics were up.

"Significant increased visitor nights recorded in commercial accommodation, increased visits to attractions and activity businesses, and increased expenditure from electronic purchase figures are clear indicators that international visitor numbers are at the highest levels since the Global Financial Crisis.

"For the year to June 2015, Rotorua enjoyed an increase of 10.1 per cent in commercial accommodation visitor nights, ahead of the national average increase of 7.4 per cent.

"Over the same period, electronic card purchases in Rotorua by international visitors increased 40 per cent, well above the national average of just 16.3 per cent."

Hells Gate and Wai Ora Spa general manager Terry Hammond said international visitors had grown by 355 per cent in the year ending June 2015 from the previous year. "Ours is from the natural increase in the Chinese market.

"All our markets were up with the Japanese market slightly down."

He said domestic growth wasn't as strong, which was reflected in the wider Bay of Plenty, but another big summer was looking likely. "We are looking forward to another great year I think, which looks really encouraging for Rotorua."

He said it was important to promote Rotorua as a brand and destination. Rotorua Canopy Tours sales manager Nicki Dent said the business had experienced continual growth since it opened in 2012.

"International numbers are growing more than domestic for us - it is probably a lot to do with international arrivals.

"Australia is still our biggest market but China is growing rapidly and is beginning to look like it could become our biggest market.

"We still get a lot of Europeans, a lot of English and Irish, and the US is growing."

Agroventures sales and marketing manager Debbie Guptill said the attraction's international visitors had surpassed domestic visitors. "Our domestic versus international visitors have actually reversed. Our split was 60 per cent international to 40 per cent domestic, but this has changed."