Rotorua international visitor arrivals reach peak
New Zealand annual visitor arrivals have hit the three million mark for the first time according to government statistics, and Rotorua is getting more than its share of the growing tourism business.
For the year ending 30 June 2015 Rotorua welcomed its largest number of International visitors since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, with many of the district's key international visitor markets now showing solid growth.
Destination Rotorua's general manager marketing, Oscar Nathan, says Rotorua enjoyed an increase of 10.1 per cent in commercial accommodation visitor nights for the year ending June 2015, ahead of the national average increase of 7.4 per cent.
This is a fantastic result that helps reinforce our position as a must see' New Zealand destination for international visitors, said Mr Nathan.
Over the same period, electronic card purchases in Rotorua by international visitors increased 40 per cent, well above the national average of just 16.3 per cent.
Not only are international visitors doing more, but expenditure statistics indicate they are spreading their dollars around our community and across a variety of businesses - such as supermarkets.
We started turning the corner in late 2014 and the current solid period of growth for the Rotorua visitor industry has continued to go from strength to strength, with strong winter season to date, Mr Nathan said.