Chinese and Australian visitor numbers have bolstered year-on-year arrival numbers to New Zealand, but growth in the number of days international visitors stayed was sluggish and Southeast Asian visitor numbers took a hit after the axing of Air Asia X.
Statistics released this week confirmed a 4% year-on-year growth in international visitor arrivals, with 2.6 million arrivals to New Zealand for the year ending May 2012.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said in a statement maintaining year-on-year growth across the low season was a positive sign for the industry.
"We first saw this number of overseas visitors in December 2011, when arrivals topped 2.6 million for the first time.
"Seeing this maintained as we head into winter, with growth in our key markets of Australia up 3.3% for the year and China up 32.3%, is a good sign."
Statistics New Zealand's international travel and migration figures showed overall arrivals for the month were 140,841, up 0.1% on the same period last year. Holiday arrivals grew by 3.2% and arrivals of those visiting family were up 6.7% compared with the year ending May 2011.
China continues to show strong growth, with holiday arrivals up 61.1% for the month. While Southeast Asian arrivals grew for the year, arrivals were down for the month, reflecting the loss of Air Asia X, Mr Bowler said.
"The decrease in arrivals from Singapore and Malaysia shows the importance of successful air connections to our offshore markets. We are working to offset this and have marketing activity under way with key airline partners in the region."
International visitor stay days also grew, up 0.5% for the year, and totalling 50.8 million stay days in New Zealand.
However, more work needed to be done to increase the number of days visitors stayed by attracting more higher-end visitors to New Zealand, Mr Bowler said.
