China tourist spending up 14pc to $1.7b

International visitor spending hit $11.1 billion last year with spectacular growth from the Chinese, highlighting New Zealand’s dependence on that market.

Total spending by international visitors rose 6 per cent in the year to December, and the contribution from China was up 14 per cent to $1.68b, making it second only to Australia.

The latter remains our largest source of visitors, with almost 1.5 million Australians crossing the Tasman last year. They spent $2000 each on average, which was well behind the Germans who racked up an average spend of $6000, as well as the British ($4200) and Chinese ($4100).

Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) chief executive Stephen EnglandHall said the latest international visitor survey found the amount visitors spent grew at 1.5 times the rate of total arrivals. That showed TNZ’s focus on value over volume was working, even though numbers from Britain, Germany and Japan had dipped.

‘‘Targeting high-value visitors who will spend across multiple regions in New Zealand in the offpeak seasons helps to spread the benefits of tourism across the country and throughout the year,’’ England-Hall said.

Industry sources cite a number of reasons for buoyant spending by the Chinese, who accounted for 448,000 of the 3.9 million visitor arrivals in 2018.

Craig Davis, a commercial manager at Skyline Queenstown, believed the rise in Chinese travelling independently was driving spending because those on group tours often have full schedules and rush to fit everything in.

‘‘As travellers become more independent, they leave space to pick up more on-the-ground activities, and that increases their spend,’’ he said.

China Travel Service managing director Lisa Li said millennials tended to be much bigger spenders, especially on activities such as skydiving, bungy jumping, and helicopter flights.

It was common for several generations of Chinese to travel together, but it was often Englishspeaking millennial members who arranged the bookings.

If young Chinese visited New Zealand on their own, parents often followed their example.

‘‘That’s why we attach so much importance to the younger Chinese travellers,’’ Li said.

Recent concerns over Chinese officials delaying the launch of the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism had not resulted in cancellations, and although this Chinese New Year was not as good as the last one, forward bookings were good, she said.