More Indian tourists coming here to chill out as Kiwis flee the cold

Friday, 22 June 2018

Queenstown is a favourite destination with the growing number of Indian families choosing to holiday here.

New Zealand's chilly winter temperatures attracted 7000 more Indian tourists in May, but there was also a big jump in Kiwis heading for warmer climes.

The tourism industry has targeted the Indian market because they prefer to visit in our off season to avoid their summer heat, and that appears to be paying off with 9100 arriving in May, compared to just 2100 for the same month in 2017.

At the same time the colder temperatures also prompted almost 250,000 Kiwis travel overseas in May, up 16,000 for the month.

Statistics NZ said the 21 per cent increase in Indian visitors over the year to May reflected double digit growth in the overall Asian market which contributed just over 1m visitors last year.

A Canterbury company specializing in tours for Indian visitors says they frequently travel in family groups and stay longer than other tourists.

* Tourists spend thousands on chauffeurs to avoid driving on New Zealand road**

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment tourism forecasts predict that Indian visitor numbers will be close to 110,000 annually by 2024 and they were expected to stay 50 days on average, considerably longer than many other tourists.

Naturally New Zealand is a Canterbury company catering for the Indian market and managing director Trish Abrahamson said they had just enjoyed their busiest May ever, hosting up to 800 visitors, including two large incentive travel groups.

These Indian tourists enjoying Akaroa were undeterred by our cooler winter temperatures.

She said it was common for several generations of Indian families to travel together. 'We had one family of 16 adults and eight children ranging in age from two to 16 years.'

It was not unusual for those visiting friends and family to stay for several months, but New Zealand was expensive for Indian visitors.

'They could have gone to Europe for two weeks for the cost of flying to New Zealand,' Abrahamson said

Honeymooners were a big part of the Indian arrivals, and the cold was no deterrent. 'Even in winter they're asking for convertibles [cars] all the time.'

Queenstown is a favoured destination and second hand clothing shops there are doing a roaring trade in wool jumpers, puffer jackets and coats as Indian tourists rug up against the cold.

The Walk In Wardrobe manager Helen Carswell said there had been a noticeable increase in Indian customers in the last couple of years and they were very fond of New Zealand-made merino and possum fur clothing.

'They're not interested in anything from China or India.'

Indian and Singaporean visitors, who didn't need warm winter gear back home, often bought new jackets on arrival and and sold them before they flew out.