One third of all international visitors go to Queenstown. (File pic) Photo: Getty Images
The tourism industry is hopeful a funding boost will help get visitor numbers back on track, and encourage people to see more of the country.
The government wants to "turbocharge" global marketing to international visitors, with a new $13.5 million investment in Tourism New Zealand.
Hotel Council Aotearoa strategic director James Doolan told Morning Report times were tough, but recovery post-pandemic was always going to be a marathon not a sprint.
"International tourism is incredibly important because international tourists spend more heavily than New Zealanders do, and they spend at times that we don't spend, during work weeks and during the school term."
Investment was necessary on both fronts - attracting people to New Zealand's shores and improving the cities they visited.
"If we want nice things, then we need to do the marketing to get people to use them and fill them up," Doolan said.
The government said funding would initially be used to attract more visitors from China, Australia, the US, India, Germany, and South Korea.
According to Stats NZ data, Chinese visitor numbers have not rebounded since Covid.
But Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods told Morning Report the data also showed more people from China were visiting independently, rather than as part of tour groups, and were staying longer and spending more.
He said with new investment, there would be opportunities to attract visitors to popular spots and then send them further afield, where there was untapped capacity.
"Queenstown is a drawcard for international visitors, and we know that one in three of all international visitors will come and visit Queenstown, but if we think about that regional dispersal, and also seasonality, there's actually quite a lot of capacity within New Zealand to move the visitors around."
Woods said the colder months made some spots more appealing, such as the hot pools in Rotorua.
The Labour Party's tourism spokesperson Glen Bennett said investment was not just about the posters, but also about looking after the places people visited.
He said there needed to be a focus on sustainability, to make sure the rivers, the lakes and the glaciers which enticed people to New Zealand were pristine, and more funding should go towards better infrastructure at tourist hot spots.
