Economy

The return of international visitors is helping to improve New Zealand’s economy and shrink the current account deficit, according to Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

Nelson Tasman businesses are feeling more confident than the national average when it comes to their prospects, according to an annual Insights Business Survey.

Low tourism numbers, expensive flights, rising interest rates and other costs are contributing to a sluggish tourism recovery, according to respondents in a survey by former Bank of New Zealand chief economist Tony Alexander.

Tourism is one of the bright spots for New Zealand’s economy in an otherwise muted environment, says Westpac.

Tourism has come back faster than even Treasury expected and is one of four reasons New Zealand’s recession is not as bad as many expected, says Dominick Stephens.

New Zealand’s trade deficit narrowed to $3.2bn dollars in the March 2023 quarter, compared with $3.9bn in the March 2022 quarter, according to data from Stats NZ.

Rotorua businesses are feeling more upbeat about the future of the city, according to the latest Business Pulse report by RotoruaNZ.

Businesses are grappling with a range of challenges, including a shortage of skilled workers, increasing supply chain costs, and the impacts of recent weather events. 

The industry is expected to generate US$9.5tn in 2023 and surpass pre-Covid earnings next year.

New Zealand will need to be innovative to stay top-of-mind overseas as recession looms.

The key Chinese market is only in the early stages of recovery, says the bank.

Regions hit hard by the downturn in international tourism during the pandemic have made a strong recovery.

The three top major events between September and January attracted 90,000 Aucklanders and 39,000 domestic and international visitors.

December’s 0.6% GDP slide provides an opportunity for tourism to play an important role in moving back to positive territory, TIA believes.

The strong recovery of the tourism sector has helped boost the transport sector and wider economy, according to Infometrics’ December 2022 Quarterly Economic Monitor.

Businesses want to operate with as little restriction as possible, says Rotorua Canopy Tours’ Paul Button.

The return of international travel has given the economy an unexpected lift, surprising analysts with the strength of activity.

The positive outlook for the tourism sector comes despite slowing economic growth, acute capacity constraints, low labour force and population growth, as well as widespread cost, price increases, and rising interest rates.

Rising visitor arrivals, strong expenditure, and more guest nights are bolstering stronger-than-expected international tourism recovery in New Zealand and contributing to elevated economic activity.

But the bank warns a new Covid wave, the cost of living crisis, and China uncertainty could drag growth.

The return of international visitors has given the country’s economy a boost.

The ASB Classic tennis tournament could bring economic benefits of as much as $27m to Auckland when it returns in 2023, says sponsor ASB.

Marlborough’s local tourism expenditure was down 7.7% in the year to June – more than the 6.6% drop reported nationally, according to Infometrics.

An “exodus of youth” employees could hit NZ’s tourism hotspots just as the peak season starts.

“Now that our borders are open, tourists are flocking in, regardless of the state of the global economy,” says the bank.

Queenstown Lakes District Council is seeking tenders for the implementation of its District Economic Diversification Plan.

The borders are open, but now New Zealand needs to remain competitive and attractive to tourists in a global market.

The economy faces strong headwinds but hospitality is better prepared than many other industries to face the challenges, says Cameron Bagrie.

The network drops to 59 locations, prompting Tourism NZ to take a closer look at how i-SITEs can evolve.

Business confidence has dipped due to the pain of interest rates, finding skilled staff, and rising costs.

The constrained labour market and lack of overseas workers are the biggest barrier to business, the Quarterly Canterbury Business Survey

NZ’s economic performance will only stay positive thanks to the revival of the sector.

The tourism sector is facing a combination of environmental and business risks that could make some operators unviable

After languishing at the bottom of the bank’s regional rankings, Otago and Southland are on the move.

The Chinese are yet to return but arrivals from other countries are on the move.

Rising costs are prompting price revisions with little room to manoeuvre in a recovering market for ITOs and suppliers.

The Ticker looks at how tourism businesses are coping with rising costs and whether they can increase prices in a recovering market.

The World Travel & Tourism Council paints a rosy recovery with both global tourism GDP and employment near pre-Covid levels next year.

Some 68% of local SMEs believe the New Zealand economy will decline in the next 12 months.

Tourism stakeholders share their hopes for changes to New Zealand’s border settings.

The bank says NZ’s current self-iso border requirements will be too prohibitive for potential travellers.

The third wave of the Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Voucher Programme is underway, with a further 50,000 vouchers allocated to registered Aucklanders.

Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said businesses could not be in a worse position to pay higher wages after the government announced the minimum wage increase to $21.20 per hour from 1 April 2022.

People have gone into their shells “like never before during the pandemic” with a possible wave of business failures to come.

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Tourism-dependent Otago has suffered from Auckland’s lockdown.

Credit defaults for businesses overall fell 5% in November compared to last month as the economy recovers heading into summer, according to Centrix.

New Zealand will move to a new “traffic light” system to replace the Alert Level system as full vaccination rates top the 90% mark, says prime minister Jacinda Ardern.

The West Coast has made a “stunning” return to the top of ASB’s latest measure of regional economic performance. 

Consumer card spending is bouncing back to near pre-lockdown levels, according to a new Bank of New Zealand survey.