Do we love tourists again?
Kiwis' attitude towards international tourists appears to be on the mend, after the quiet pandemic years released the building pressure caused by unprecedented growth in visitor numbers.
Angus & Associates have been conducting their ‘Views on Tourism’ research in New Zealand and Australia since 2018.
The Wellington-based strategy and research company also collates the Queenstown Visitor Survey, beginning in July 2020, to better understand the industry and impact on the community.
Its final Views on Tourism report for 2022 shows support for international tourism in New Zealand at its highest level since the survey began. And for the first time, the level of support is equal to that seen in Australia.
The research is based around a 'Tourism Approval Rating', which considers both the positive and negative impacts of tourism on local communities, to give an overall score.
The International Tourism Approval Rating in New Zealand had shown a steady decline from a net positive 42 in 2018, to a net positive 28 in 2021. But in 2022 this bounced up to a rating of 44.
Australia is virtually identical, with a rating of 45. However, pre-COVID Australians had been more positive than Kiwis about international visitors, with a 59 rating in 2018.
Managing Director of Angus & Associates, Chris Roberts, says the support is driven by communities experiencing the positive impacts from the return of visitors, and avoiding some of the pain points that were becoming evident pre-COVID.
"It seems that Kiwis are now more aware of the benefits that tourism activity in their community can deliver, because they have also seen what is lost when there are no international visitors."
People feel positive about international tourists because they enable "more local businesses opening or being able to stay open", "improved services for our community" and "has encouraged more sustainable behaviour in my community", according to the research.
Conversely, as was evident in Queenstown Lakes pre-Covid, negative sentiment towards tourism is driven by "a reduced sense of belonging in my/our community" and "too much pressure on community infrastructure (e.g., roads, wastewater, toilet facilities)".
The proportion of NZ residents who have personally experienced any adverse local impacts of tourism has also fallen from 73% in 2019 (pre-Covid) to 64% in 2022.
Roberts says the research reinforces the importance of listening to communities and managing destinations properly.
"Visitor numbers will keep increasing as airline capacity grows, and the tourism industry must remain very mindful of sharing tourism's benefits and eliminating its burdens.
"Every region in New Zealand has worked on Destination Management Plans over the last couple of years, largely motivated by social license concerns. These plans need to be supported and implemented."
That includes our regional tourism organisations, Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, whose destination management plan includes the ambitious aim to become a carbon zero visitor economy by 2030.
"Having seen for themselves the impact of closed borders, Kiwis have become more aware of the local benefits that international tourism brings. But quite rightly, they are also not prepared to bear the brunt of poorly managed tourism," Roberts concludes.
