Latest / Best of Business / Rebecca Ingram: Tourism Industry Aotearoa CEO on the Government's bid to draw in more tourists

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Rebecca Ingram: Tourism Industry Aotearoa CEO on the Government's bid to draw in more tourists · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: Tourism tourism is making a comeback good. We need the money,
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  Speaker 2: but there's calls for a new strategy to pull more
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  Speaker 2: tourists through the door. Just over three hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 2: one thousand tourists came into the country in November. That
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  Speaker 2: is at eighty six percent of pre pandemic figures from
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  Speaker 2: twenty nineteen. Nikola Willis has hinted at considering visa changes
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  Speaker 2: like the possibility of visa free entries to drive economic growth.
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  Speaker 2: So what can we do. We've got tourism industry Alteriro
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  Speaker 2: our CEO, Rebecca Ingram with us right now. Hello, Rebecca
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  Speaker 2: good afternoon. Six consecutive months of arrival numbers above eighty
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  Speaker 2: five percent of pre pandemic levels. So is that satisfactory?
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  Speaker 3: Well, there's certainly room for growth, is what I would say.
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  Speaker 3: And so as an industry, we're delighted to see such
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  Speaker 3: a strong focus on economic growth from the government with
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  Speaker 3: the new portfolio for Minister Willis, and we're looking forward
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  Speaker 3: to working with Minister Upston who's just taken over as
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  Speaker 3: the Tourism and Hospitality Minister. Well as of tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: Actually, through the years we've seen growth. You know, why
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  Speaker 2: are we still though below COVID levels when we are
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  Speaker 2: used to historically growing at a rate of five percent
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  Speaker 2: or more a year.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think there was an opportunity for us to
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  Speaker 3: put some fuel in the tank so to speak, as
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  Speaker 3: we came out of COVID and now there is still
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  Speaker 3: that chance. So we want to ensure that New Zealand
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  Speaker 3: competes globally. Tourism is a global business after all, So
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  Speaker 3: when people are thinking about going on a holiday, we're
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  Speaker 3: thinking about many countries that they might want to go to.
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  Speaker 3: We're hoping that tourism is in New Zealand is one
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  Speaker 3: of those, and so we've got to compete. We need
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  Speaker 3: tourism in New Zealand to be well funded. We've got
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  Speaker 3: to ensure when they choose New Zealand the process of
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  Speaker 3: getting a visa is smooth and quick and what they expect.
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  Speaker 3: And we want to ensure they have a great experience
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  Speaker 3: in New Zealand when they get here.
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  Speaker 2: Well, whose responsibility is this? Is it the government or
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  Speaker 2: is it private enterprise?
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  Speaker 3: Well, some of the things are differently in the government's camp,
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  Speaker 3: so visa processing, choosing the level of the international visitor
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  Speaker 3: the be, what we can do to attract airlines and
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  Speaker 3: ensure our connectivity to the world, and how we fund
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  Speaker 3: tourism New Zealand are things that can occur in partnership
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  Speaker 3: between government and private businesses in the jurism industry.
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  Speaker 2: And with all that said, are you optimistic that in
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  Speaker 2: the near and medium future the numbers will rise?
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  Speaker 3: I am optimistic as long as we do some things
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  Speaker 3: to put fuel in the tank. So I'm delighted to
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  Speaker 3: see such a focus on growth. We are definitely an
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  Speaker 3: industry that's got growth potential and that will have a
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  Speaker 3: ripple effect for jobs and GDP and all the good
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  Speaker 3: things that we want for our economy and for our communities.
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  Speaker 3: It's also important, though, as we're thinking about growth, that
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  Speaker 3: we're balancing that with investment in New Zealand to ensure
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  Speaker 3: that that growth is well planned for and well managed
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  Speaker 3: on the ground.
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  Speaker 2: Well, hey, look, let's talk about China, because Simon Bridges,
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  Speaker 2: we can there's a billion dollars worth of business there
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  Speaker 2: that we're not tapping, and Chinese visitor numbers are still
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  Speaker 2: a lot lower than pre COVID, so why are the
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  Speaker 2: Chinese not coming?
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  Speaker 3: Well, visitation from China has had a slower recovery for
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  Speaker 3: New Zealand, though it is Chinese New Year next year,
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  Speaker 3: so I'm hopeful that we'll see it boost from that.
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  Speaker 3: And it's important to remember that the numbers that got
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  Speaker 3: released today are actually reflective of November of last year,
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  Speaker 3: so that's before the summer season and before the majority
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  Speaker 3: of our international visitors arrive in New Zealand, which takes
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  Speaker 3: us right through to the end of March.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the ideas that have been floated around the place
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  Speaker 2: and that we talk with Nicola Willis about at the
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  Speaker 2: beginning of the week, was visa free entry for China.
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  Speaker 2: Would you support that?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think these are some of the things that
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  Speaker 3: other countries have done. They've looked at how they can
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  Speaker 3: make it easier for a visitor considering New Zealand to
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  Speaker 3: or considering their country to pick the country visa processing times.
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  Speaker 3: The ease of getting a visa is definitely something that
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  Speaker 3: we should be thinking about alongside how we're turning up
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  Speaker 3: in China. Has tourism New Zealand got enough money to
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  Speaker 3: do a really good job for us trade missions over there,
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  Speaker 3: have we got a good profile, and also making sure
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  Speaker 3: that Chinese consumers understand what holiday and New Zealand looks like.
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  Speaker 3: You know, when they're thinking about going on a break,
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  Speaker 3: do they think of New Zealand. We want to make
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  Speaker 3: sure all of those things are being thought about. And
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  Speaker 3: I think it's really important that we are out there
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  Speaker 3: being proactive in the world. We should never assume that
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  Speaker 3: people are thinking about New Zealand or thinking about coming
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  Speaker 3: on holiday here. It's very important that we're globally competitive
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  Speaker 3: and proactive.
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  Speaker 2: This is a slightly petty question, but I think it's
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  Speaker 2: relevant and it's my final question. We want to get
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  Speaker 2: people to come to New Zealand, but your company is
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  Speaker 2: called your organization is called Tourism Industry ALTAH, so will
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  Speaker 2: people overseas know what we're talking about when we say
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  Speaker 2: are tehor well TIA.
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  Speaker 3: Tourism Industry is a business association much like Busines New Zealand.
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  Speaker 3: So my members are tourism businesses in New Zealand. Tourism
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  Speaker 3: in New Zealand under the banner of the one hundred
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  Speaker 3: percent Your New Zealand campaign is the one out there
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  Speaker 3: marketing us to the world.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, I get it. Differentiation, and I thank you so
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  Speaker 2: much for your time today. That is Rebecca Ingram from
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  Speaker 2: Tourism Industry. I'll tear it
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