The Hobbit movies boost New Zealand tourism

The New Zealand tourism industry is bouncing back, with 2013 recording the biggest annual increase in visitor arrivals since 2004.

More than 2.7 million people visited the country in 2013, an increase of almost 10% on 2012

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says that is due to the British and American visitors coming back after the recession, and the emerging Chinese tourist market.

Bowler also attributes much of the success to the Hobbit movies, adding that says the state tourism agency is still keen to expand into other markets and Brazilian, Indonesian and Indian markets will be key targets in 2014.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's holiday parks are enjoying a bumper summer season with the Holiday Parks Business Confidence Monitor for November/December showing business confidence at a high for the year and looking likely to remain strong.

Confidence levels were at +78, indicating that 78% more respondents were currently optimistic than pessimistic.

This was an increase of nine points from the October/November survey.

Business confidence for the next 12 months also increased by seven points on the previous month to +76.

The Holiday Parks Business Confidence Monitor, developed and managed by Angus & Associates*, surveys the Holiday Parks Association New Zealand's (HAPNZ) 300 members.

HAPNZ Chief Executive Fergus Brown says the Christmas-New Year period is always a busy time for most holiday parks. But improving economic conditions are encouraging more New Zealanders to take their holidays away from home this summer.

Brown explains "47% of HAPNZ members completing the monitor expected that demand for the coming month would increase compared to the same month last year.

"Only 9% expected demand to decrease in December/January, with the remainder expecting it would stay the same as last summer."

The appeal of the local region is again thought to have had the biggest influence on increased demand in November/December, followed by the appeal of holiday parks in general.

Brown says most parks around New Zealand have had good numbers of guests through the Christmas-New Year period, with a good mix of international and domestic visitors.

*Angus & Associates is a premier supplier of marketing, research and strategic planning services. They are focused on delivering informed insights for a range of private and public sector clients, particularly within the tourism and leisure sectors.

For more information go to www.holidayparks.co.nz

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