Kiwis urged to holiday at home

Friday 17th February 2012 1 Comment

New Zealanders are being urged to spend more on travel within the country as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis saps demand from overseas travelers, according to the Motel Association.

“We would like to see a concentrated effort from the government and the tourism sector to encourage kiwis to holiday at home, enjoy what our fantastic country has to offer, and help lift the economy,” said Michael Baines, chief executive at MANZ. “If the global uncertainty triggers another world-wide recession, we will need to ensure that we keep every dollar we can in New Zealand to help us through.”

The Treasury, yesterday revised down its expected forecast for economic growth in its Budget Policy Statement, predicting gross domestic product will expand 1.9 percent in the year ending March 31 and 2.8 percent in 2013, down from 2.3 percent and 3.8 percent flagged in the pre-election economic and fiscal update.

Growth in the following 2014 year is forecast to expand at a pace of 3.8 percent compared to a previous 3.3 percent.

The downgrade of the governments forecasts, caused largely by turmoil in Europe, means more kiwis should be encouraged to spend their tourism dollar at home, Baines said.

Kiwis currently account for about 70 percent of guest nights in motels, MANZ says. International visitors spent 1.3 million guest nights in New Zealand in 2011, down 2.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The total number of guest nights fell 0.7 percent in December from a year earlier, partly reflecting a drop in Canterbury due to the region’s earthquakes.

(BusinessDesk)

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

On 18 February 2012 at 10:20 am Stayhome said:

Well if NZers are to spend more on tourism in this country, maybe some of the greedy motel owners should do more in upgrading their units from the 1970's 80's look, drop the price from 3 figures per night to 2 figures, have staff that smile, and give the units a damn good clean. The last few times I stayed in various motels, everything appeared lovely and clean on the surface, but some of the armrests of couches were a shade of grey from the rest of the couch, then walking barefoot on the carpet, it only took a few minutes for my soles to turn black. NO THANKS!!