New Zealand offered Chinese tourists an easier path to visit, and they’re loving it
Chinese visitors take advantage of a pilot scheme that exempted them from visa requirements if they were travelling from Australia
Tourism is New Zealand’s second-largest export earner after dairy, and is a major cog in the government’s economic growth strategy at a time when domestic spending and investment are suppressed by high fuel costs and uncertainty.
China was the nation’s second-largest source of tourists before the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has yet to return to those levels.
Upston said the Chinese and Pacific travellers taking advantage of the trial delivered an estimated NZ$215 million (US$121 million) boost to the economy so far.
The government said 90,111 electronic travel authorities had been issued to Chinese nationals as at May 31, of which 79,078 had been used to travel.