Aussies flock to New Zealand autumn

A record number of Australians headed across the Tasman last month.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand show that visitors from Australia to New Zealand in May totalled nearly 40,000, an increase of 18 per cent on arrivals in May 2000.

And the number of visitors per year from this market is up to 600,000, an increase of 10 per cent since last year.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says these figures are even more impressive from a well-established market such as Australia.

"We believe this is evidence that our short break campaign in Australia is working," he says. "Tourism New Zealand's 'In Five Day's You'll Feel 100%' campaign focuses on the 'getaway' market, a recently identified group of Australian holidaymakers who are looking for holidays for 5-7 days at a time. This campaign has been in Australia for four months now, and the effects are being felt."

International visitors to New Zealand were up for the month of May 2001 by 12 per cent to 110,942 visitors. These extra visitors are estimated to have brought in NZ$35 million to the New Zealand economy.

Monthly figures for New Zealand's other main markets are bouncing back from some downturns in April, with the UK and Germany showing increases for the month of May. Japan also had a very healthy increase of 14.6 per cent for the month, sustaining a level of growth which has been in double-digits for the past three months.

The US, however, is continuing a downward trend, with numbers down for the month by 2 per cent, reflecting the continuing tightening of the economy in that country.

Another Asian market showing a strong increase in visitor numbers is China, with a 40 per cent increase in international visitors for the month of May 2001 to 3,692. Korea also continued its recovery of previous months, up 31 per cent to over 4,693 visitors for the year.