The Press - April 2006

The amount of money tourists inject into Christchurch's economy will jump $700 million by 2011 on the back of a projected visitor influx.

The Christchurch city Council is preparing a major new strategy to help deal with the growth in visitors, who will place pressure on local infrastructure.

Tourism projections show total visitor nights are expected to leap by 21% to 14 million by 2011, increasing the direct visitor spend by $700m to $2.32b.

The number of tourists has not been factored in before - the council has just been thinking about Christchurch's population.

The figures show we really need to get things in gear and put things in place.

Lincoln University research had argued the council should take the lead role in establishing a tourism strategy for the city, which it was now doing.

The council would establish several working parties to consider issues including marketing, branding, events the city should hold, transport infrastructure and workforce numbers.

Events such as the 2011 Rugby World Cup would place significant pressure on all New Zealand Cities.  It was important to ensure there was a more even spread of tourists arriving in Christchurch across the year.

The ski season helped attract  people, but more thought could be given to spring and autumn packages, especially targeting the Australian market.

Strong growth is predicted to continue in both overseas and domestic tourism markets, the latest six-year forecast predicts, with international visitor numbers expected to reach 3.21 million by 2011.

The Tourism Research Council New Zealand (TRCNZ) and the Ministry of Tourism forecast a 52.3% increase in international spending to $9.6 billion (2004: $6.3b), and a 28.9% domestic tourism spending increase to $9.3 billion (2004: $7.2b) from 2005 to 2011.

"The forecasts reinforce that the long term prospects for tourism remain excellent," TRCNZ chairperson Lex Henry said today.

"For our largest industry to be growing at this sustained rate has important implications for New Zealand's overall economic performance."

"The provision of reliable and credible forecasts is critical to informing tourism sector decision-making, whether deciding on staffing levels for the coming summer season or for deciding on a major upgrade of water and sewerage facilities at a tourist destination," he said.

Total expenditure is forecast to increase by 39.8% to $18.9 billion in 2011.