The tourism tap is gushing Chinese, but how do we keep them coming?
Wednesday, 12 July 2017
The maturing of the Chinese visitor market presents new challenges. Amanda Cropp reports
Our blue skies, starry nights, and eye-popping scenery attract Chinese tourists keen to escape crowded polluted cities, but we can't take their custom for granted.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment forecasts that by 2023 close to a million Chinese will visit annually, with up to 60 flights weekly flights from China.
However, the number of Chinese holidaymakers coming here dropped just over 2 per cent for the year to June, and the total amount spent by Chinese arrivals fell 17 per cent to $1.4 billion.
That flattening of demand from what is now our second largest inbound market after Australia is a reminder of stiff competition for Chinese travellers like Charlie Wong.
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The 23-year-old works for a business valuation company and lives with her parents in a 25 story apartment building in Guangzhou, population 14m.
She is typical of the sophisticated independent travellers taking over from the once prevalent cheap group shopping tours from China.
Since her mid teens Wong has holidayed in Russia, Mauritius, Japan, Korea, and the Maldives. This year she's off to Spain.
Six members of her extended family did a 10 day New Zealand road trip in early 2016, hitting Auckland, Rotorua, Fox Glacier and Queenstown.
They saw blue penguins in Oamaru, and like many young Chinese travellers, Wong did her first skydive at Queenstown.
'I was very nervous, but after I jumped out it was very beautiful. '
Her only complaint: she put on weight from eating so much of our excellent seafood.
Wong is the ideal tourist - highly mobile, keen to see and do a lot, and prepared to pay for great experiences.
Changing Chinese travel tastes
Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, plans to send more of them our way.
Headquartered in a massive futuristic office complex in Shanghai, Ctrip employs 40,000 staff.
Screens in the foyer showing maps of the world 'ping' constantly, visually recording every booking made.
It's a stark reminder that even with 100 millon Chinese heading overseas annually, New Zealand cannot afford to rest on its scenic laurels.
Director of Ctrip's Oceania Department for vacation business Isabelle Wang says they sent 20,000 people on travel packages to New Zealand last year, and aim to double that this year.
Free independent travel is growing fast and Wang says today's tour groups want a more leisurely trip.
'Our new itinerary will stay three nights in Queenstown to just relax, rather than go to lots of places and change accommodation and cities every day.
'We will have more free time for people to choose [what they do].'
Distance a hurdle
As a long haul destination New Zealand is a big deal for Chinese because of their limited vacation time.
Those entering the workforce get to choose about five days leave a year, with another couple of weeks based around national public holidays, says Wang.
'Normally we're afraid to ask for long leave from the boss.'
She explains that commercial skydiving is rare in China, which is why it is on the bucket list of so many young Chinese tourists.
Novice travellers usually start with short trips to South East Asia before venturing to the US or Europe, and with a retirement age of 55 in China, 'active silvers' are a large market.
'The pure thing is what they love about New Zealand … the lakes and the beautiful mountains.
'In big cities like [Shanghai] we rarely have blue skies … there's no stars and seldom rainbows.'
But talking to Wang is a reality check.
'Everyone has a dream to go to America once in a life time. New Zealand is far, far, far from the top of the list.'
Cost is a factor too and an 11 day group tour to New Zealand is about 20,000 Yuan or NZ$4000; double that over Chinese New Year.
Packages to Egypt, Israel and Dubai are half the price or less, and South America, Canada, and Eastern Europe are increasingly popular, Wang says.
'Even my friends, some of them very rich, when they travelled to New Zealand, they said it was very expensive.'
Queenstown remains a favourite destination, although lack of hotel capacity at peak season is a problem, and Wang says Chinese visitors wanting to avoid crowds of fellow country folk might consider going to Wanaka or smaller cities.
Value for money issue
Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) chief executive Stephen England-Hall is unfazed by apparent softening in the Chinese numbers, because they were more than matched by healthy increases from other sources, such as the US.
He describes it as a 'correction' in the market and notes that over the past year there had been a decline in 'low end' group tours from China, with an 11 per cent jump in higher value independent travel.
A TNZ campaign that kicked off in June promoting Wellington and the upper South Island on Chinese social media scored 5 million video views in its first three days, and time will tell how well that translates into sales.
After a recent visit to China, England-Hall is acutely aware that a niche destination like New Zealand is vying for customers who have literally hundreds of holiday options.
'Price does play a role. If we make ourselves too expensive people won't come.
'We don't want to be a rip off. We want to be really good value for money and that doesn't necessarily mean cheap.
'It means we give an incredible experience, people have a really amazing time and they pay a fair price for it.'
Fairfax travelled to China courtesy of Christchurch International Airport