Biggest Industry Continues to Boom

International visitors to NZ are expected to grow by 4% per annum to reach 3.1 million in 2012, according to a report by the Tourism Ministry. The main contributors to the growth are likely to be Australia, China and the UK. “The long term prospects for tourism remain strong,” says Tourism Minister Damien O’Connor. “To have one of our largest industries growing at this sustained rate creates important implications for NZ’s overall economic performance and reinforces that we must ensure the sustainable use of our vital tourism resources.” In 2004 tourism surpassed the dairy industry to become the NZ’s top export income earner.