British tourists are the second most important market for travel to New Zealand but cheaper flights and other destinations are making a trip down under far less appealing.
Tourism New Zealand said 290,000 Britons visited New Zealand in the year to April, making Britain the second most important source of international visitors after Australia.
However, Tourism New Zealand has warned that travel to New Zealand and Australia was no longer the luxury it was in Britain a decade ago and there was a new challenge in attracting British tourists.
Greg Anderson, Tourism New Zealand regional manager for the United Kingdom and Europe, said "a raft of new countries have come onto the radars - and wish lists - of British travellers".
In the latest issue of the Tourism New Zealand magazine Tourism News, he said London was now the cheapest place in the world from which to fly anywhere and the growth in travel to places such Vietnam and Thailand was enormous.
"China and India have also really grown in the last few years as well as Dubai, South America and Southern Africa."
He said improvement in facilities in southeast Asia, the expansion of low-cost airlines and the relative wealth of England in the last few years, meant the British were becoming much more adventurous in their choice of travel destinations.
British tourists numbers to New Zealand had dropped by 2.4% in May this year, because of "economic woes."
"New Zealand and Australia are now, without doubt, the most expensive destinations in the world to travel to."
With cheaper flights to cheaper destinations it was easy to see why Britons were putting off a trip to New Zealand, he said.
It was easier for New Zealand to slip off the "must go now" list even though the awareness of it as a travel destination remained very high.
Tourism New Zealand said it began a new television advertising campaign in Britain this month featuring "exciting and passionate" British travellers talking about their experience in New Zealand.
