Volcanic activity and an early Easter contributed to a 4 per cent fall in visitor numbers to New Zealand in April and economists are warning the trend in recent months is lower.
Figures from Statistics New Zealand showed that the number of short-term overseas visitors fell 7900 to 188,000 compared with a year ago.
The fall was blamed on an early Easter as well as flight disruptions from the Icelandic volcano which closed airports in much of Europe last month.
The heaviest falls in visitors were from Europe, although population statistics manager Denise McGregor said most of the drop from Britain and Germany came before the disruption.
Visitors from Britain dropped 21 per cent compared with April 2009, to 14,148, the fifth April in a row that British tourist numbers have fallen. Germany also fell by more than 20 per cent on a year ago.
Tourism New Zealand has been warning in recent months that markets such as Britain are likely to be “difficult” in the near future, with resources being focused towards Asia and the United States.
Visitors numbers from Australia rose by 400, the lowest increase in 12 months, although Statistics New Zealand said this was influenced by the timing of Easter.
Short-term visitor numbers for the year to the end of April rose 84,000 to 2.49 million, the highest figure for a year ending April 30.
However, Statistics New Zealand said the seasonal trend in visitor numbers, stripping out short-term factors, was a fall of 3 per cent since November 2009.
ANZ economist Mark Smith said that while April’s figures could be explained by Easter and the volcano, the trend in overall visitors was heading lower.
“If recent stresses in the global financial markets intensify and spillover into economic activity and employment, the expected rebound in European visitor numbers may be tempered once flight disruptions have passed,” Mr Smith said.
“This does not bode well for an expected recovery in tourist spending that is expected to provide support to the New Zealand economy.”
The Tourism Industry Association has warned that mining of national parks could damage New Zealand’s reputation, potentially hurting several industries. In a submission on the Government’s mining proposals, the agency said its members were divided on the issue, with some supporting the need to grow New Zealand’s economic wealth base.