New Zealand’s Int. Tourism Expenditure to Reach $8.2 billion by 2015

New Zealand’s Ministry of Tourism is forecasting its international tourism expenditure (excluding airfares) to grow by an average of 4.7% per annum to reach $8.2 billion in 2015.

This represents an increase in spending of $2.3 billion per year by 2015, or an increase of 38% from 2008 levels.

In the short-term, international tourism expenditure is expected to be soft, down 2% in 2009, followed by a recovery in 2010, up 4.5%. A larger increase in spending, up 9.1%, is forecast for 2011.

The increase will be influenced by a recovering global economy and New Zealand’s hosting of the Rugby World Cup.

Bruce Bassett, Ministry of Tourism Research Manager, said, "The tourism industry is a very resilient sector and even in the current challenging environment international spend has held up remarkably well. These forecasts reinforce a positive medium to long-term outlook for the sector, with international visitor arrivals expected to increase by 2.5% per annum, and expenditure by these visitors at the faster rate of 4.7% per annum."

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