Our latest results (February 2022) show that 78 percent of adult New Zealanders now support opening the border to international visitors (a significant increase from the 61 percent support recorded in January 2022).  Of those who want to see the border reopened, the majority (86 percent) support the border reopening with appropriate health measures in place (e.g. fully vaccinated or with a negative COVID-19 test).

The proportion of Kiwis who want the border to remain closed to all international visitors has halved since January 2022 (now 18 percent, down from 34 percent).  Just four percent of those interviewed in February were unsure about whether the border should be reopened.

There are no significant differences in sentiment by age, ethnicity, or household composition. An analysis of New Zealanders’ international travel intentions suggests however that those who are intending to travel internationally in the next 12 months are more likely to support a reopening of the border.

In Australia, where the border was recently reopened to fully vaccinated international visitors, support for an open border has also increased (from 65 percent in January to 72 percent in February 2022).  One-fifth of the adult population believed the border should remain closed to all international visitors (down three percent from January 2022).

Click here for a high res copy of the infographics for publication with this story. 

The total survey sample for the period covered in this release (1 March 2021 – 28 February 2022) is n=3,072 New Zealanders and n=2,433 Australians. Respondents in both countries are aged 18 years or more and the sample is representative of the general population by age, gender, and place of residence.

Note: all survey fieldwork was undertaken before the New Zealand Government announced on 28 February 2022 that New Zealand’s reopening plan would be sped up and the self-isolation requirement removed.

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ABOUT: THE VISITOR INSIGHTS PROGRAMME

The Visitor Insights Programme is an ongoing study of travel attitudes and experiences and is undertaken in New Zealand and Australia. The programme has been running continuously for more than 10 years and captures information on the travel experiences and opinions of more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and over each year.

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ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based strategy and research company established in 2002. The company provides independent research and professional advice for public and private sector organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Christopher Joyce

Project Manager

christopher@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Four in five Kiwis support opening the border to international visitors appeared first on Angus & Associates.

The latest New Zealand results (January 2022) show a jump in the proportion of the New Zealand adult population who want the border to stay closed (up by 8% on December to 34% in January). However, the majority of Kiwis (61%) still support a reopening of the border now, most of this group – almost 90% – with appropriate health measures in place (“e.g., fully vaccinated or with a negative COVID-19 test”).

The remaining 5% of those interviewed in January were unsure about whether the border should be reopened.

Across the Tasman, there are early signs that sentiment is stabilising. In January 2022, our survey shows that 65% of Australian adults supported the border reopening (down 1% since December 2021). 26% believed the border should remain closed to all international visitors (unchanged).

Click here for a high res copy of the infographics for publication with this story. 

The total survey sample for the period covered in this release (1 February 2021 – 31 January 2022) is n=3,054 New Zealanders and n=2,423 Australians. Respondents in both countries are aged 18 years or more and the sample is representative of the general population by age, gender and place of residence.

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ABOUT: THE VISITOR INSIGHTS PROGRAMME

The Visitor Insights Programme is an ongoing study of travel attitudes and experiences and is undertaken in New Zealand and Australia. The programme has been running continuously for more than 10 years and captures information on the travel experiences and opinions of more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and over each year.

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ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based strategy and research company established in 2002. The company provides independent research and professional advice for public and private sector organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Cristine Angus

Managing Director

cristine@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Omicron rattles confidence but majority of Kiwis still want the border reopened now appeared first on Angus & Associates.

Latest New Zealand results show 23% of the adult population holding the view that New Zealand’s international border should remain closed to all international visitors. 70% support the reopening of the border, most (59%) with appropriate health measures in place (“e.g. fully vaccinated or with a negative COVID-19 test”).

With Omicron spreading rapidly across the Tasman, there are early signs of a shift in public attitude toward the border, with a small increase in the proportion of Australians who are calling for the border to be closed to all international visitors. For the moment though, this remains the minority view with two-thirds of Australians still favouring a reopening of the border. As in New Zealand, few suggest that the border is thrown open with no restrictions in place.

Click here for a high res copy of the infographic for publication with this story. 

The total survey sample for the period covered in this release (1 January to 20 December 2021) is n=3,057 New Zealanders and n=2,451 Australians. Respondents in both countries are aged 18 years or more and the sample is representative of the general population by age, gender and place of residence.

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ABOUT: THE VISITOR INSIGHTS PROGRAMME

The Visitor Insights Programme is an ongoing study of travel attitudes and experiences and is undertaken in New Zealand and Australia. The programme has been running continuously for more than 10 years and captures information on the travel experiences and opinions of more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and over each year.

——————————————————

ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based strategy and research company established in 2002. The company provides independent research and professional advice for public and private sector organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Cristine Angus

Managing Director

cristine@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Omicron has done little to dampen support for border reopening appeared first on Angus & Associates.

Few (just 5% in November) suggest that the borders are thrown open with no restrictions in place, but the proportion that supports reopening the border with appropriate health measures in place (“e.g. fully vaccinated or with a negative COVID-19 test”) has grown from 39% in August to reach 66% of the adult population in November.

While there are no significant differences by age, ethnicity or household composition, male New Zealanders tend to support the border re-opening more than their female counterparts.

A high res copy of the graph for publication with this story is available here.

The total survey sample for the period covered in this release (1 January to 26 November 2021) is n=2,797 New Zealanders. Respondents are aged 18 years or more and the sample is representative of the general population by age, gender and place of residence.

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ABOUT: THE VISITOR INSIGHTS PROGRAMME

The Visitor Insights Programme is an ongoing study of travel attitudes and experiences and is undertaken in New Zealand and Australia. The programme has been running continuously for 10 years and captures information on the travel experiences and opinions of more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and over each year.

——————————————————

ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based strategy and research company established in 2002. The company works with many public and private sector organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East, providing marketing, research, and strategic planning services.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Cristine Angus

Managing Director

cristine@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Seventy percent of Kiwis say open the border to international visitors now appeared first on Angus & Associates.

In the latest results of an Angus & Associates survey 21 percent of Australians indicated that they are likely to travel to New Zealand for leisure in the next 12 months. Similarly, 21 percent of New Zealanders indicated that they are likely to travel to Australia in the next 12 months. While the proportions are equal, the proportion of New Zealanders indicating that they are likely to cross the Tasman has increased significantly since January (from 13 percent in January, to 25 percent in April). Across the four-month period, the level of demand amongst Australians has been more consistent.

“While not all will proceed with trans-Tasman travel in the time period stated, we should see New Zealand reaping the greater benefit because of the respective population size of each country” Research Director Carolyn Parker says. Initial arrival numbers by Statistics New Zealand suggest New Zealand has benefited so far at a ratio of 3 to 2.

The survey asks New Zealanders and Australians about their likelihood of travel for the next three, six and twelve months. A growing proportion of New Zealanders are also likely to travel to Australia in the next six months – from five percent in January to 15 percent in April. These results are in line with Tourism Australia’s measure of New Zealander’s travel intentions, featured in their recent Market Briefing.

Despite a growing proportion of New Zealanders looking to travel to Australia, New Zealanders’ demand for domestic travel is so far largely unaffected by the trans-Tasman bubble’s opening. “While a softening in demand is evident in April, it’s not a significant change” Parker says. “In April 63 percent of New Zealand respondents said they’re likely to travel in New Zealand in the next six months. This compares with 65 percent in January”.

In terms of the profile of visitors to New Zealand from Australia, survey results show that Australian visitors in the coming months are more likely to be male, more likely to be younger Australians (under 50 years), and more likely to be those with children aged 5 to 14. “As Australia’s vaccination programme progresses it will be interesting to see if the age profile of intending travellers skews older” Parker says.

Angus & Associates’ survey also measures likelihood of travel to the Pacific Islands. Notably, given a Cook Islands travel bubble is signaled as imminent, survey responses for the year to date show that 12 percent of New Zealanders are likely to travel to the Pacific in the next 12 months.

The total survey sample for the period covered in this release (1 January to 30 April 2021) is n=1,820 – n=1,014 New Zealanders and n=806 Australians. Respondents are 18 years or more and representative of the general population.A high res copy of the graph for publication with this story is available here.

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ABOUT: THE VISITOR INSIGHTS PROGRAMME

The Visitor Insights Programme is an ongoing study of New Zealanders’ and Australians’ travel motivations and experiences which has been running for 10 years.

Research and strategy specialists Angus & Associates conduct the Visitor Insights Programme to gain a long-term view of New Zealand and Australia travel trends. The survey captures the opinions and experiences of 5,000 New Zealanders and Australians annually and provides a valuable bank of insights for subscribers into domestic and Trans-Tasman travel and tourism activity.

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ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based research and strategy company established in 2002.

Angus & Associates collaborates with many corporate, public and government organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East providing marketing, research, and strategic planning services. We provide the specialist tools and knowledge so our clients can do business better and gain their competitive advantage.

Angus & Associates has won awards and accolades, including the coveted TIA (Tourism Industry Aotearoa) Industry Enabler Award (twice) recognising our valued contribution to New Zealand’s tourism industry.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Carolyn Parker

Research Director

carolyn@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Kiwis increasingly keen to cross Tasman but bubble likely to benefit New Zealand more appeared first on Angus & Associates.

An ongoing Angus & Associates domestic travel study shows that more than two thirds of Kiwis believe they receive good or excellent value for money from their domestic holiday travel.

Just 8% of respondents thought their experiences were poor or extremely poor value for money.

The study asks recent New Zealand leisure travellers to what extent they thought their experiences provided value for money and results are collected separately for accommodation, activities and attractions, transport, and dining experiences.

Between January and March 2021 respondents who had travelled in the last 12 months were asked to comment on their most recent travel experience. Accommodation took the lead with 73% of respondents stating they had received good or excellent value for money, activities and attractions 68%, transport 66% and cafes, restaurants and bars 66%.

“We run many research programmes for clients throughout New Zealand and the results we have seen are quite different to some of the public discussion that suggests tourism is too expensive for the domestic market” says Cristine Angus, Managing Director of Angus & Associates.

To test this difference, Angus and Associates included a value for money question in its ongoing Views on Tourism research programme. This self-funded programme is designed to understand everyday New Zealanders’ perceptions of the impacts and benefits of tourism.

These early results – which are based on a nationwide sample of n=500 Kiwi travellers – indicate that New Zealand tourism providers are delivering good value for money for the domestic market.  “Far from supporting the view that the industry should further drop its prices for the domestic market, the high proportion of respondents indicating they received ‘excellent’ value for money suggests there could be an argument for struggling operators to increase prices in some cases”.

Angus points to the importance of objective market research in times of crisis so that businesses can avoid the risk of being driven by the loudest voice and identify opportunities for adapting to new market conditions.

This research comes on the back of the positive results from Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s Domestic Visitor Satisfaction survey which shows high levels of visitor satisfaction and engagement over the summer season.

The value for money questions are an ongoing feature of Angus & Associates’ tourism tracking programmes.A high res copy of the graph for publication with this story is available here.

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ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based research and strategy company established in 2002.

Angus & Associates collaborates with many private, public and government organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East providing research and strategic planning services. We provide the specialist tools and knowledge so our clients can do business better and gain their competitive advantage.

Angus & Associates has won awards and accolades, including the coveted TIA (Tourism Industry Aotearoa) Industry Enabler Award (twice) recognising our valued contribution to New Zealand’s tourism industry.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Cristine Angus

Managing Director

cristine@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post New Zealand holidays are great value for money appeared first on Angus & Associates.

Tourism’s potential to create employment and enrich local communities has been strongly endorsed in a new survey of how Kiwis view tourism.

As tourism returns post-pandemic, the local tourism industry should focus on job creation, according to more than 30 percent of respondents in the on-going Views on Tourism research programme, conducted by Wellington-based research and strategy specialists Angus & Associates.

This result underlined the critical role that tourism could play in the country’s economic recovery, Angus & Associates Managing Director, Cristine Angus said.

“Few sectors, if any, can create jobs at scale in every community across New Zealand while also supporting other sectors, for example by providing a seasonal labour force for fruit picking or harvesting. So, it seems vital that we get the tourism industry back on its feet as quickly as possible and just as soon as it’s safe to do so,” she said.

It was also significant, Ms. Angus said, that the potential for job creation was equally important to Kiwis from both North and South Island centres.

At the same time, the survey clearly showed that post-recovery, New Zealanders were not expecting ‘business as usual’, she said. They wanted more investment in community infrastructure used by visitors, a greater focus on domestic tourism development and increased emphasis on sustainable tourism development.

The latter is especially important to younger Kiwis who would like to see additional focus on reducing visitor impact on their local environment, and helping visitors to reduce their carbon footprint and adopt more sustainable travel practices.

This was in line with the current industry discussion on “reimagining tourism” and the new Tourism Futures Taskforce, an independent public private partnership established by the government to lead thinking on the future of tourism in New Zealand, she said.

Consumer sentiment also supported the view that, as tourism returns, infrastructure investment will be essential to realising the economic benefits and effectively managing visitor growth.

Until recently, community sentiment about tourism had been largely unknown, Ms. Angus said, as there had been a lack of in-depth research into how Kiwis perceived an industry that played such a huge part in New Zealand’s economy.

“It’s crucial that industry, local and central government consult with communities about what they want from tourism. Resetting and reimagining tourism via an industry and ministerial focus group without meaningful community research and engagement could be a path to poor policy decision making,” Ms. Angus said.

Angus & Associates plan to release a series of insights around community views on tourism over the coming months. This will come as the industry and government begin work on resetting the levers that influence the performance of the sector which, until year end March 2019, was New Zealand’s biggest export industry contributing 20.4 percent of total exports.

Launched in 2017, Angus and Associates’ Views on Tourism research programme seeks insights from people in New Zealand, Australia and Ireland about their opinions on tourism, its benefits and its costs to them and their local communities. The survey data is building a valuable research resource for the tourism sector.

The latest data was collected between June 2020 and September 2020, and these findings are based on a sample of 770 New Zealanders aged 18 years or over. The sample is population representative as per the last census data.

The survey asked respondents what they would like their local tourism industry to most focus on in the future. Options included environmental themes such as reducing the carbon footprint of visitors, visitor impact on the local environment, safety, employment and infrastructure, increasing tourism’s value, attracting domestic vs. international visitors, promoting authentic experiences, and consultation with communities.A high res copy of the infographic for publication with this story is available here.

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NOTES ON TOURISM

Source: YE March 2019, Statistics NZ Tourism Satellite Account

• $17.2 billion annual international tourism expenditure ($47 million a day)
• $23.7 billion domestic expenditure ($65 million a day)
• 14.4 percent of New Zealanders employed directly or indirectly in tourism in almost every corner of the country
• Tourism was New Zealand’s biggest export industry contributing to 20.4 percent of total exports

——————————————————

ABOUT: ANGUS & ASSOCIATES 

Angus & Associates is a Wellington-based research and strategy company established in 2002.

Angus & Associates collaborates with many private, public and government organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East providing research and strategic planning services. We provide the specialist tools and knowledge so our clients can do business better and gain their competitive advantage.

Angus & Associates has won awards and accolades, including the coveted TIA (Tourism Industry Aotearoa) Industry Enabler Award (twice) recognising our valued contribution to New Zealand’s tourism industry.

ENDS

——————————————————

For media queries please contact:

Cristine Angus

Managing Director

cristine@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Kiwis look to tourism to provide jobs, aid economic recovery appeared first on Angus & Associates.

Early indications from the long-running Visitor Insights Programme, conducted by research and strategy specialists Angus & Associates, show that Kiwis remain keen to travel. Almost half of survey respondents (45%) plan to travel somewhere within New Zealand before the end of 2020, with 28% intending to travel during September and October. Queenstown and the wider Canterbury region are the most popular destinations.

Overall, the insights indicate that more people are planning travel for leisure and other reasons – rather than to see friends and family – following the Lockdown 2.0 period than was the case following the Level 4/Level 3 lockdown earlier in the year.

More people intend to stay in paid accommodation too, which will be good news for the travel sector.

Angus & Associates Research Director Carolyn Parker said the positive survey results should be welcome news for the domestic tourism sector, particularly the regions.

“While the survey sample size was smaller given the shorter timeframe of the Level 3/Level 2 lockdown period compared to the previous Level 4/Level 3 lockdown period, it provides strong indicators for a continued interest in domestic travel,” Parker said.

Commercial accommodation providers should also be encouraged, she said, as the survey showed a significant lift in desire for staying in commercial accommodation – at 80%, up from 64% during the previous lockdown.

The survey found that travel intent remains strong throughout New Zealand, and amongst Auckland residents there was no discernible change in this future travel intent.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Carolyn Parker

Research Director

carolyn@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Lockdown 2.0 survey shows positive signs for domestic travel sector appeared first on Angus & Associates.

For the last four weeks, Angus & Associates has been running a series of questions in its Visitor Insights Programme which are designed to understand Kiwis’ travel intentions in the post-COVID environment.  Focussing on the next trip people would like to take, the questions explore where Kiwis want to travel and why, how they will travel and where they will stay, and the types of activities or experiences they would like to have.

Says Research Director, Carolyn Parker “Rather than using blunt measures of travel intention which can be difficult to interpret without context, we chose to take a more qualitative approach.  This has enabled us to understand not only what Kiwis are thinking, but why, and the types of messaging to which people will respond”.

Based on a population-representative sample of n=404 New Zealanders so far (the research is ongoing and is also running in Australia), the research shows that nine out of ten adult New Zealanders would like to take a trip in New Zealand in the coming months.

For a third of the market, the next trip is all about catching up with friends and family.  For one in five, it’s about taking in the beauty of New Zealand’s natural environment and, for 15%, it’s about going somewhere they’ve never been or doing something they’ve never done before (or not for a very long time).   As one respondent said about their intended destination:

“It’s just stunning and also it’s been a childhood memory for quite a long time!!  My dad’s in a band and he would take us with him while he performed at a bunch of different venues during the country rock festival. The country rock festival happens one weekend every year (usually in May I think). But yeah it was always my favourite place growing up. It was that special place that I didn’t visit all the time but it was the rarity of going there that almost made it special.”

Tourism New Zealand’s new campaign (Do Something New, New Zealand) taps this desire for new (or renewed) experiences in our own backyard.  But, for regions wanting to develop their domestic tourism market, there are also opportunities in campaigns built on shared experiences with friends and family, on experiences of places that offer peace and relaxation, on the nostalgic return to a favourite place, and on hobbies and special interests (ranging from surfing, to skiing, to cycling and photography).

Angus & Associates is already working with a number of partners to help them better understand post-COVID opportunities and implications for their regions.  Information is also available for other organisations looking to understand Kiwis’ travel sentiment at national/regional levels and in key demographic segments.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Carolyn Parker

Research Director

carolyn@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post 90% of Kiwis are keen to travel in New Zealand appeared first on Angus & Associates.

Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s National Tourism Development Authority has partnered with Angus & Associates to gain an understanding of the Irish public’s disposition towards tourism, as part of the Views on Tourism research programme.

Angus & Associates is delighted to welcome Fáilte Ireland to its Views on Tourism research programme, following the announcement of Tourism Research Australia’s involvement last year. “This new partnership strengthens the international benchmarking opportunities offered by the programme” Managing Director Cristine Angus says.

The new partnership coincides with the introduction of a new suite of questions exploring the personal ‘felt benefits and impacts’ of tourism activity within local communities; questions that will provide very actionable insights for research partners. For example, “two in every five New Zealanders agree that more local businesses have opened, or been able to stay open, because of tourism activity in their local area” Angus says “and more than one third of New Zealanders agree that they benefit from tourism by having a more vibrant and friendly place to live”.

In terms of the personally felt negative impacts of tourism activity, research respondents are asked if they feel enough action is being taken to address these, and if not, what more they feel could be done. For the most part New Zealanders agree that enough is being done, but some feel that there remains scope to do more – for example in protecting the natural environment, and in reducing tourism’s impact on the availability of housing. Collecting this new information ensures that the issues driving and/or undermining support at a regional level can be identified, better understood and addressed on an ongoing basis.

While weaker in New Zealand than it is in other countries, there has been little real deterioration in New Zealand tourism’s social licence to operate (when considered at a national level) over the past two years. There have however been some significant changes by region, with residents of some regions increasingly becoming advocates for tourism activity, whilst residents in other regions have become more critical.

“Our latest findings suggest that the North Island currently has relatively more capacity for growth in tourism activity” Angus continues. In the past year, thirty percent of South Islanders agreed that tourism activity in their local area was placing too much pressure on local infrastructure, compared to less than one fifth of North Island residents. A higher proportion of South Island residents than North Island residents also said that they felt less safe driving, that damage to the natural environment is occurring, and that they have observed an increase in waste generation, as a result of tourism activity in their local area.

The research also shows that younger New Zealanders (18-34 year olds) are more critical of tourism activity in New Zealand than their older counterparts. Future analysis of the research findings will explore the factors driving this difference in attitudes.

“With more than 215,000 people directly employed in tourism and average daily tourism expenditure at $107 million per day, tourism continues to be a critically important sector of our economy” Angus says. “Our research underpins the need to continue advocating the benefits of tourism, while engaging with communities to manage and reduce any adverse impacts so that public support for tourism is retained.”

Angus & Associates’ Views on Tourism research programme was launched in 2017 and to date has canvassed opinions from a representative sample of more than 11,000 New Zealand and Australian residents. Angus & Associates is actively seeking national and regional partners in New Zealand, and is also pursuing opportunities to partner with other international stakeholders.

ENDS

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For media queries please contact:

Carolyn Parker

Research Director

carolyn@angusassociates.co.nz

+64 4 499 2212

The post Views on Tourism research develops; regional support diverging appeared first on Angus & Associates.