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Speaker 1: Tourism. Tourism is making a comeback good. We need the money,

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Speaker 1: but there's calls for a new strategy to pull more

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Speaker 1: tourists through the door. Just over three hundred and twenty

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Speaker 1: one thousand tourists came into the country in November, that

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Speaker 1: is at eighty six percent of pre pandemic figures from

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen. Nikola Willis has hinted at considering visa changes,

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Speaker 1: like the possibility of visa free entries to drive economic growth.

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Speaker 1: So what can we do. We've got tourism industry alteriro

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Speaker 1: CEO Rebecca Ingram with us right now. Hello, Rebecca good afternoon.

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Speaker 1: Six consecutive months of arrival numbers above eighty five percent

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Speaker 1: of pre pandemic levels. So is that satisfactory?

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Speaker 2: Well, there's certainly room for growth, is what I would say.

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Speaker 2: And so as an industry, we're delighted to see such

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Speaker 2: a strong focus on economic growth from the government with

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Speaker 2: the new portfolio for Minister Willis, and we're looking forward

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Speaker 2: to wishing with Minister Upston, who's just taken over is

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Speaker 2: the Tourism and Hospitality Minister well as of tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Actually, through the years we've seen growth. You know, why

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Speaker 1: are we still though below COVID levels when we are

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Speaker 1: used to historically growing at a rate of five percent

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Speaker 1: or more a year.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think there was an opportunity for us to

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Speaker 2: put some fuel in the tank, so to speak, as

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Speaker 2: we came out of COVID, and now there is still

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Speaker 2: that chance. So we want to ensure that New Zealand

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Speaker 2: competes globally. Tourism is a global business after all, so

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Speaker 2: when people are thinking about going on a holiday, we're

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Speaker 2: thinking about many countries that they might want to go to.

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Speaker 2: We're hoping that tourism is in New Zealand is one

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Speaker 2: of those, and so we've got to compete. We need

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Speaker 2: tourism in New Zealand to be well funded. We've got

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Speaker 2: to ensure when they choose New Zealand the process of

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Speaker 2: getting a visa is smooth and quick and what they expect,

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Speaker 2: and we want to ensure they have a great experience

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Speaker 2: in New Zealand when they get here.

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Speaker 1: Well, whose responsibility is this? Is it the government or

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Speaker 1: is it private enterprise?

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Speaker 2: Well, some of the things are differently in the government's camp.

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Speaker 2: So visa process saying, choosing the level of the international

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Speaker 2: visitorly be what we can do to attract airlines and

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Speaker 2: ensure our connectivity to the world, and how we fund

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Speaker 2: tourism New Zealand are things that can occur in partnership

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Speaker 2: between government and private businesses in the jurism industry.

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Speaker 1: And with all that said, are you optimistic that in

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Speaker 1: the near and medium future the numbers will rise?

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Speaker 2: I am optimistic as long as we do some things

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Speaker 2: to put fuel in the tank. So I'm delighted to

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Speaker 2: see such a focus on growth. We are definitely an

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Speaker 2: industry that's got growth potential and that will have a

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Speaker 2: ripple effect for jobs and GDP and all the good

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Speaker 2: things that we want for our economy and for our communities.

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Speaker 2: It's also important, though, as we're thinking about growth, that

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Speaker 2: we're balancing that with investment in New Zealand to ensure

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Speaker 2: that that growth is well planned for and well managed

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Speaker 2: on the ground.

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Speaker 1: Well, hey, look, let's talk about China, because Simon Bridges

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Speaker 1: reckons there's a billion dollars worth of business there that

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Speaker 1: we're not tapping, and Chinese visitor numbers are still a

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Speaker 1: lot lower than pre COVID, So why are the Chinese

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Speaker 1: not come?

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Speaker 2: Well, visitation from China has had a slower recovery for

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Speaker 2: New Zealand, though it is Chinese New Year next year,

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Speaker 2: so I'm hopeful that we'll see it boost from that.

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Speaker 2: And it's important to remember that the numbers that got

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Speaker 2: released today are actually reflective of November of last year,

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Speaker 2: so that's before the summer season and before the majority

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Speaker 2: of our international visitors arrive in New Zealand, which takes

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Speaker 2: us right through to the end of March.

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Speaker 1: Well, the ideas that have been floated around the place

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Speaker 1: and that we talked with Niicola Willis about at the

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Speaker 1: beginning of the week was visa free entry for China.

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Speaker 1: Would you support that?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think these are some of the things that

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Speaker 2: other countries have done. They've looked at how they can

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Speaker 2: make it easier for a visitor considering New Zealand to

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Speaker 2: or considering their country to pick the country visa processing times,

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Speaker 2: the ease of getting a visa is definitely something that

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Speaker 2: we should be thinking about alongside how we're turning up

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Speaker 2: and China has touris in New Zealand, got enough money

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Speaker 2: to do a really good job for US trade missions

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Speaker 2: over there, have we got a good profile and also

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Speaker 2: making sure that Chinese consumers understand what holiday and New

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Speaker 2: Zealand looks like. You know, when they're thinking about going

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Speaker 2: on a break, do they think of New Zealand. We

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Speaker 2: want to make sure all of those things are being

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Speaker 2: thought about. And I think it's really important that we

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Speaker 2: are out there being proactive in the world. We should

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Speaker 2: never assume that people are thinking about New Zealand or

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Speaker 2: thinking about coming on holiday here. It's very important that

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Speaker 2: we're globally competitive and proactive.

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Speaker 1: This is a slightly petty question, but I think it's

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Speaker 1: relevant and it's my final question. We want to get

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Speaker 1: people to come to New Zealand, but your company is

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Speaker 1: called your organization is called Tourism Industry ALTAH or so

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Speaker 1: will people overseas know what we're talking about when we

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Speaker 1: say are tehor.

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Speaker 2: Well TIA Tourism Industry a HERO is a business association

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Speaker 2: much like Business New Zealand. So my members are tourism

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Speaker 2: businesses in New Zealand. Tourism in New Zealand under the

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Speaker 2: banner of the one hundred percent Pure in New Zealand

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Speaker 2: campaign is the one out there marketing us to the world.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I get it. Differentiation and I thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for your time today. That is Rebecca Ingram from

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Speaker 1: tourism industry Altar

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