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Wheeling luggage at airport - Source: ONE News -
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The importance of the backpacker market for New Zealand's tourism industry will take centre stage at the inaugural Backpacker Industry Conference in Auckland this week.
The conference, held by AUT's New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI) and NZBackpack.com, will look at how the sector has fared through the global economic crisis and ways to promote the sector, such as the use of online social networking.
NZTRI director Simon Milne says the backpacking industry is evolving and the tourism industry needs to adapt to what is happening world wide.
He says while the tourism industry has been hit by the recession, the backpacker sector is more resilient than other sectors of the industry.
"In the current economic climate, while many older travellers are choosing to holiday close to home, backpackers seem less affected by the economic crisis and are continuing to travel long haul to New Zealand," he says.
Furthermore, he says the backpacker sector is a barometer for the entire tourism industry.
"Backpackers are often the first group of tourists to explore a region. Where backpackers go, the rest of the industry will follow."
NZTRI Associate Director Ken Hyde says while the backpacker sector represents budget accommodation and budget travel, it also represents big spending on adventure activities such as bungee jumping and heli skiing.
Recent figures from Statistics New Zealand in June showed that overall spending by international tourists was $6 billion in the year to June, down 2.6% on the same period last year and closely aligned with a 2.8% fall in international arrivals over the period.
Spending by Chinese visitors increased 28% to $334 million in the period, driven by a boost in the number of long-stay students.
Speakers at the conference include Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key, Tourism New Zealand CEO George Hickton and Dan Roberts of Xebidy Social Web Design.
The conference is expected to attract operators from all sectors of the tourism industry and will take place on Thursday and Friday at AUT.
