Globally the travel and tourism industry has become one of the fastest growing economic sectors Despite the occurrence of external shocks, including political upheaval, economic uncertainty and natural disasters, at an aggregated level, global tourism has shown nearly uninterrupted growth in arrivals for over three decades. In 2012 international arrivals exceeded 1 billion for the first time and international tourism receipts grew to exceed USD1,000 billion, despite global economic constraints (UNWTO, 2012). Today the industry is one of the biggest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. These growth trends are expected to continue with worldwide international arrivals forecast to grow 3.3 per cent per year on average from 2010-2030.
For New Zealand, international visitors remain a vital export industry Tourism plays a significant role in the New Zealand economy. In the year ended March 2012 international tourism expenditure contributed $9.6 billion (15.4 per cent) to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services up 1.6 per cent, and directly accounted for $6.2 billion (3.3 per cent) of GDP. The tourism industry directly provides employment for 6.2 per cent of New Zealand’s work force and generates $1.3 billion in goods and services tax (GST) revenue. These strong results occurred despite the industry facing the devastating February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, ash from the Chilean volcano which disrupted air travel, and the on-going effects of the global financial crisis (Tourism Satellite Account, 2012).
Macro factors will continue to influence the industry as highlighted above many externalities have shaken the New Zealand tourism industry and challenges will continue to be faced throughout the duration of this strategy. In conjunction with one off shocks, the New Zealand tourism industry will also be influenced by key trends and changes within the macro environment.
Some of the major influences that will shape the tourism industry and therefore have been considered in the construction of this strategy include: