In the TNZ-run magazine Tourism News issued on Tuesday, TNZ regional manager for North Asia Mark Frood said many New Zealand tourism operators were waiting to see where the China market was headed. "But we can't afford to wait," he said.
"It is moving fast and if New Zealand is not in there, if we don't have a good, solid presence to help the Chinese understand what we are about as a destination, our ability to attract this market will become much more difficult," he said.
Tourism New Zealand said New Zealand attracted only 0.6 percent (122,000) of the 39.8 million Chinese who traveled every year. They stayed in New Zealand for three days on average, spent a total of 337 million NZ dollars (265 million U.S. dollars) with an average spending of 3240 NZ dollars, and most were satisfied with their New Zealand holidays.
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