Venture Southland is questioning revised tourism spend estimates that have taken $22 million off the amount spent by international visitors in October.Published on : Thursday, February 8, 2018
Venture Southland is questioning revised tourism spend estimates that have taken $22 million off the amount spent by international visitors in October.
The tourism figures were recently revised by The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) looking into the tourism spending amount throughout the country. And, the results showed a reduction in the spending for international visitors from $266m to $234m which has hit Southland hard.
However, the total drop in spending only went from $628m to $606m, as the revisions actually estimated an increase in the domestic market. MBIE manager of sector trends Mark Gordon said the revisions were a common and internationally recognised statistical practice, and were used in many other key statistics, such as GDP.
Gordon also said that the monthly regional tourism estimates (MRTE) have been revised with the latest Statistics NZ Tourism Satellite Account figures.
While the figures still represent a gain in tourism spending from the previous year, Venture Southland have questioned the methodology behind the new estimates. As Gordon said, the tourism satellite account which is put together from a range of sources is the official and the most comprehensive estimate of overall national spending on tourism available.
Venture Southland general manager for community, tourism and events Bobbi Brown said the changes had a significant impact on Southland’s key tourism indicators. “We understand that adjustments need to be made but are very disappointed in this significant revision that poses more questions than answers for us as an RTO [regional tourism organisation].”
Venture Southland have made investments in a range of regional tourism data, which Brown said aligned more closely with the original figures.
Tags: mbie, nz tourism, Venture Southland