Rotorua Tourism
Key Facts and Figures
For the year ending December 2007 the Ministry of Tourism estimates there were 2.9 million visitor arrivals to Rotorua, who collectively are estimated to have spent $484 million during their stay in Rotorua.
Auckland is Rotorua's single largest source market – it accounts for approximately 18% of visitor expenditure, 22% of visitor arrivals and 27% of visitor nights. Other key domestic markets for Rotorua are Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
Australia is Rotorua's largest international market – it accounts for approximately 8% of visitor expenditure, 6% of visitor arrivals and 7% of visitor nights. Other key international markets for Rotorua are United Kingdom, China, USA, Japan and South Korea.
There were 1.5 million overnight visitors to Rotorua who collectively stayed 3.5 million visitor nights in Rotorua, which is equivalent to an average of 2.3 nights per overnight visitor. Visitors from the USA had the longest length of stay (average 3.2 nights), while visitors from China had the shortest length of stay (average 1.1 nights).
| Visitor Origin |
Visitor Expenditure |
Total Visitors |
Day
Visitors |
Overnight Visitors |
Length
of Stay |
Visitor Nights |
| Auckland |
$89 million |
640,000 |
247,000 |
393,000 |
2.4 nights |
932,000 |
| Bay of Plenty |
$59 million |
558,000 |
493,000 |
65,000 |
2.7 nights |
175,000 |
| Waikato |
$38 million |
593,000 |
470,000 |
123,000 |
1.8 nights |
219,000 |
| Wellington |
$23 million |
115,000 |
24,000 |
91,000 |
2.7 nights |
241,000 |
| Other NZ regions |
$44 million |
202,000 |
33,000 |
169,000 |
2.6 nights |
444,000 |
| Total Domestic |
$253 million |
2.1 million |
1.3 million |
841,000 |
2.4 nights |
2.0 million |
| |
| Australia |
$40 million |
164,000 |
47,000 |
117,000 |
2.2 nights |
257,000 |
| United Kingdom |
$39 million |
150,000 |
26,000 |
124,000 |
2.3 nights |
280,000 |
| China |
$30 million |
87,000 |
9,000 |
78,000 |
1.1 nights |
88,000 |
| USA |
$29 million |
80,000 |
17,000 |
63,000 |
3.2 nights |
202,000 |
| Japan |
$25 million |
40,000 |
10,000 |
30,000 |
3.0 nights |
91,000 |
| South Korea |
$15 million |
57,000 |
6,000 |
51,000 |
1.7 nights |
85,000 |
| Other Countries |
$53 million |
248,000 |
41,000 |
207,000 |
2.2 nights |
454,000 |
| Total International |
$231 million |
826,000 |
155,000 |
671,000 |
2.2 nights |
1.5 million |
| |
| TOTAL |
$484 million |
2.9 million |
1.4 million |
1.5 million |
2.3 nights |
3.5 million |
Source: Ministry of Tourism - NZ Regional Tourism Forecasts 2007-2013 – Rotorua RTO
Economic and Employment Benefit of Tourism
The value-added contribution of tourism to the Rotorua economy is estimated at approximately $250 million or 12% of Rotorua's GDP, which ranks the tourism industry as Rotorua's third largest contributor to GDP after forestry 16% (includes logging and wood processing) and manufacturing 14%.
Source : APR Consultants, Economic Impact of Tourism on the Rotor ua District Economy 2004, p. 19
Tourism provides an estimated 7000+ full-time equivalent jobs in the Rotorua district, which is equivalent to 25% of Rotorua's total workforce and ranks the tourism industry as Rotorua's largest employer. Direct employment in the tourism industry accounts for approximately 20% of Rotorua's total workforce and a further 5% of Rotorua's total workforce are indirectly employed in the tourism industry by virtue of having jobs that are dependent on the tourism industry eg. A percentage of jobs in businesses servicing the tourism industry, such as food wholesalers would not exist in Rotorua if the tourism industry was not present.
Source: APR Consultants, Economic Impact of Tourism on the Rotorua District Economy 2004, p. 42
Rotorua Visitor Monitors
Rotorua has a number of visitor activity monitors that are freely available for download and subscription as indicated below:
Rotorua Tourism in Focus (RTIF)
A monthly report compiled by Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing which provides a national overview and consolidates the Rotorua specific monitors into one place.
Download PDF
Subscribe
Rotorua Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM)
This is a monthly report compiled by Statistics New Zealand giving a detailed analysis of the commercial accommodation sector in Rotorua by type of accommodation.
Download PDF
Subscribe
Rotorua Private Homes Monitor (PHM)
This is a monthly report compiled by APR Consultants giving a detailed analysis of visitors staying with friends and family in the private homes of Rotorua residents.
Download PDF
Subscribe
Rotorua Regional Visitor Monitor (RVM)
Compiled quarterly by Angus and Associates, the Regional Visitor Monitor (RVM) is managed by the Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with Tourism New Zealand and six regional tourism organizations - it provides seasonal 'snapshots' of visitors' experiences.
Download PDF
Subscribe
Rotorua Attraction Monitor (RAM)
A report compiled monthly by APR Consultants for the purposes of providing an attraction specific benchmark for the 13 attraction operators that participate in the monitor. This monitor is not publicly available, as it is primarily for the benefit of those operators that contribute the data, however a summarised version is available in the monthly Rotorua Tourism in Focus report.
Recent Research Studies
From time to time Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing is involved in studies specific to tourism in Rotorua. In some instances Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing assists organisations involved in Rotorua specific studies and in other instances these studies are commissioned by Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing.
The Rotorua region was a case study region in the Enhancing the Economic and Financial Yield of Tourism research programme (otherwise known as the Yield Research Programme). This research focused on financial yields for firms, economic yield across government agencies, yields generated by different tourist types and provided insights into social and environmental considerations. The Yield Research Programme was undertaken by Lincoln University in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Industry Association, with support from Tourism New Zealand.
Download the full set of Yield Research Programme reports
Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing commissioned APR Consultants to measure the Economic Impact of Rotorua tourism. To make the results more meaningful to the wider community, tourism in Rotorua was also measured by the products consumed by visitors.
Download Economic impact of Rotorua tourism PDF
Download A Day in the life of tourism in Rotorua PDF
Tourism has been a major focus of the Rotorua community since the 1830s when the first Europeans arrived in Rotorua and Maori recognised the economic opportunities from hosting these European visitors in their homes, guiding them around the natural attractions and entertaining them with kapa haka performances. In 1908 the New Zealand government celebrated its first major tourism investment with the opening of the Tudor-style Bath House in Rotorua. Known as the ‘Great South Seas Spa', the building was administered by the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts until 1947 when all spa treatments were transferred to nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Today the building has been restored and houses Rotorua's Art and History Museum. Given the building's early history with tourism, both the museum and its website are a rich source of historic information on the tourism industry in Rotorua.
Visit Rotorua Art and History Museum website
Waiariki Institute of Technology offers a range of learning opportunities within the tourism and hospitality industry from hobby through to degree level. To support their students, the library has one of the most extensive collections of tourism publications available in New Zealand. Although only students may borrow library items, the library catalogue is publicly available from the Waiariki website and the public are welcome to visit the library to view publications on-site and make photocopies as desired.
Visit Waiariki Institute of Technology website
home |
accommodation |
attractions |
culture |
events |
conferences |
trade |
media |
sitemap |
contact |
feedback |
operator