TOURIST SPECIAL INTEREST CYCLING NEW ZEALAND APRIL 2013

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1 Tourists TOURIST SPECIAL INTEREST CYCLING NEW ZEALAND APRIL 2013 INTRODUCING CYCLING TOURISM This report provides an overview of tourists that participate in cycling sports as an activity during their visit to New Zealand. The report includes trends and characteristics of these international cycling tourists. is a popular tourist activity and an excellent way to see New Zealand. New Zealand offers one of the worlds leading cycleways with 21 Great Rides throughout New Zealand. tourists are defined as international visitors, aged 15 years and over, who participate in some form of cycling sport at least once while travelling in New Zealand. What sort of cycling do cycling tourists participate in? For international cycling tourists, on road cycling (56%) is slightly more popular than off-road mountain biking (48%). A small percent of cycling tourists do both on-road cycling and mountain biking (). Figure 2: Types of cycling participated in, * % 45.8% As a priority Special Interest, Tourism New Zealand is focusing future marketing activity on attracting more International tourists to visit New Zealand to participate in cycling based holidays % TRENDS IN CYCLING TOURISM (On-road) Mountain Biking (Off-road) Both How many tourists cycle while in NZ? Over the last 5 year period, 318,000 international tourists participated in cycling sports. Annually around of international holiday visitors do some sort of cycling sports while visiting New Zealand. Markets that provide the most cycling tourists include Australia, UK, USA and Germany. Despite a recent dip in numbers (shown in the graph below); the level of cycling participation by International visitors has been increasing over time. It is anticipated that participation rates will continue to grow and cycling will be a significant attraction for future international visitors to New Zealand. Figure 1: Sport Participation in NZ, *1 100,000 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,

2 Tourists Percent of Market Tourists How much do international cycling tourists spend on their trip in New Zealand? Tourists that cycle during their trip to New Zealand spend more on their visit compared to a typical visitor. On average international tourists that participate in cycling spend $3,800 compared to the $2,500 average spend of all visitors. There is a significant high value segment in the cycling market with 22% of international cycling tourists saying they spend over $5,000 on their visit to New Zealand. Figure 3: Expenditure, *1 2 Cycing CHARACTERISTICS OF CYCLING TOURISTS Where do cycling tourists come from? The international markets which provide the most cycling tourists to New Zealand per year include Australia (21,000), UK (13,000) and USA (6,600). Other important markets include Germany (4,500), Canada (2,200), Netherlands (1,500) and Ireland (1,100). Western markets dominate participation in cycling. Figure 5: Where Tourists Come From, *1 25,000 20,000 15, ,000 5,000 - Where do cycling tourists visit? The Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) area with the most cycling tourists are Auckland (36,000), Canterbury (36,000), Queenstown (29,000), West Coast (26,000) and Wellington (25,000). Other RTOs popular with cycling tourists include Rotorua (22,000), Nelson (21,500), Lake Taupo (20,000) and Lake Wanaka (18,000). Figure 4: Where Tourists Visit, *1 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 - As a proportion of the total market visitation, Germany (7% of all visitors cycled while in New Zealand) shows the highest propensity to cycle while in New Zealand, followed by Ireland (7%), Denmark (6%), Netherlands (6%), UK (6%) and Israel (). The top 10 markets with the highest propensity to cycle while in NZ is rounded out by Sweden (), Canada (), USA () and France (). Figure 6: Propensity of International Cycle Tourists by Market, * % % 5.8% 5.3% 5.1% 4.7% 3.8% 3.6% 2

3 Percent of Market What is the age profile of cycling tourists? The age profile of international cycling visitors highlights a younger segment aged 15 to 24 (23%) and 25 to 34 (3). Together this youth segment makes up over half (57) of all cycling tourists. What are the travel styles of international cycling tourists? International cycling tourists are predominantly Independent Travellers (9). Only 1% visit New Zealand in a Tour Group while visit as part of a Package. tourists have a slight bias towards males with 5 of international cycling tourists being male to 46% female. Figure 7: Age of International cycling Tourists, * % Figure 9: Travel Style, *1 1% Independent Traveller Tour Group Package Traveller 15.2% % 3.9% 15 to to to to to Figure 8: Gender, *1 9 What information do cycling tourists seek before they arrive? visitors to newzealand.com are highly engaged beyond the cycling content hub. visitors spent on average 14:50s on the site, around 11 minutes more than the average. They spent around 1:45s in the cycling hub, indicating peripheral content is very important to cycling visitors. *2 46% 5 Male Female Traffic to the website by cycling visitors is very seasonal, with heavy usage during summer and event-heavy months. *2 What other content do cycling visitors to newzealand.com view? Popular peripheral content for cycling visitors is an important part of their visit to newzealand.com. This content includes New Zealand destinations Twizel, Lake Tekapo, Nelson, and Kaikoura. They also view content on Adventure activities, Facts (climate, geography & geology, flora & fauna), Self-drive information, Walking & Hiking, Nature & wildlife, Water based activities, Tours, Food & wine and Must do feature articles. *2 Popular business listings with cycling visitors show an active adventurous independent segment who visits many regions. Business listings visited by cycling tourists include Cycle tours, Cycle & mountain bike hire, Car & motorhome hire, Bus networks, Rail journeys (TranzAlpine, Otago Rail Trail), Vineyards, Ballooning, Whale Watch, Zorb and Ziptrek. *2 3

4 Who do cycling tourists travel with? International cycling tourists are slightly more likely than the norm to travel alone, with 48% traveling by themselves. Just over 27% travel with a Partner or Spouse and this also is higher than the norm for international visitors. International cycling tourists are slightly more likely to be travelling with friends (), 11% travel with their family/whanau and 1% are travelling with a tour group. What are the main purposes of travel of cycling tourists? International cycling tourists are predominantly holiday visitors (62%) although there is a significant VFR segment (2). Only of cycling tourists are in New Zealand on business (as their main purpose of visit) and are here for Education. Figure 12: Purpose of Visit, *1 Figure 10: People Travelled With, * Golf 2 62% Holiday VFR Business Education Other 39% of international cycling tourists travelled in a pair, travelled as three people, 3% travelled as a four and just 6% travelled as a group of 5 or more. Figure 11: The Number of People Travelled With, * Person 2 People 3 People 4 People 5+ People How long do international cycling tourists stay in New Zealand? Because cycling tourists are generally from longer staying Western markets, cycling tourists tend to stay in New Zealand for longer periods of time than typical visitors. Over a third (35.3%) stayed in New Zealand for a month or more, 16% stayed for nights and a further 28% combined stayed for more than 10 and less than 20 nights. Figure 13: Length of Stay, *

5 Average Satisfaction Percent of Tourists What accommodation types do international cycling tourists use? The most common accommodation used by international cycling visitors are private residences of friends or family (18%). The next most common accommodation type is backpackers (17% of cycling visitors stay in a backpackers), hotels (1) and motels (11%). Figure 14: Accommodation Used, *1 18% 16% 1 12% 8% 6% 2% What transport do cycling tourists use? The most common transport options used by international cycling tourists include Car/Van (38% used a Car or Van), a scheduled coach service (2), aeroplane (19%), or a ferry (18%). travelled on coach tour while travelled in a Campervan or Motorhome. Figure 16: Transport Used, * What other activities do cycling tourists do? International cycling visitors tend to be most interested in adventure tourism activities during their stay in New Zealand. Top 10 activities that they tend to over index on (i.e. are more likely than the typical visitor to participate in) include kayaking and rafting, climbing, horse trekking, sky diving, swimming, caving, bungy Jumping, motor sports, paraponting and wineries. The breadth of activity highlights this as an active segment that enjoys outdoor adventure activities. Figure 15: Top Ten Activities Tourists Over Index On, *1 (32%) Kayaking & Rafting () Climbing (8%) Horse Trekking/Riding (11%) Sky Diving/Parachuting (23%) Swimming (3%) Caving (12%) Bungy Jumping (6%) Motor Sports (2%) Paraponting (21%) Wineries How satisfied are international cycling tourists? New Zealand typically delivers a high satisfaction for international holiday tourists and this is no different for cycling tourists. tourists tend to be slightly more satisfied with their visit to New Zealand than the average with Irish and French cycling tourists the most satisfied (9.4 out of 10 for Overall Satisfaction) followed by UK and Swedish cycling tourists (9.3), German, American and Danish cycling tourists (9.2), Canada (9.0) and Israel (8.8). Figure 17: Satisfaction of Tourists, *

6 Size of Potential AC General Population (millions) SIZING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CYCLING TOURISM The Active Considerer The Active Consider is Tourism New Zealand s global target audience. The Active Considerer is defined as aware of New Zealand, find New Zealand a highly appealing travel destination, seriously considering visiting New Zealand in future, have New Zealand as one of their preferred destinations for their next holiday and are willing to spend a certain amount on a trip to New Zealand. It is with this audience that Tourism New Zealand has tested the appeal of as a holiday type and the association of New Zealand as a destination for. Size of the Potential Active Considerer- Tourism Population In terms of markets with the largest populations of Active Considerers who state they are personally interested in and would specifically travel for a general cycling touring holiday, China (6.2 million ACs) and the USA (4.2 million) represent the largest potential markets, for Cycle touring in New Zealand, followed by Germany (1.1m), UK (0.9 m), Australia (0.8 m) and Japan (0.6m). Figure 18: Estimated size of AC Population that are personally interested in and would specifically plan travel for a Holiday that involves general exploring by cycling (m). * Consideration of New Zealand for a Holiday In the UK 87% of Active Considerers interested in state that New Zealand would be their single most preferred or on their shortlist of a few destinations. This is followed by the USA (8), China and and Japan (82%) and Germany (68%). Figure 19: % of ACs interested in who would consider *3 travelling to NZ to participate in Australia China Germany Japan UK USA NZ would be my single most preferred destination NZ would be on my shortlist of a few destinations I might consider NZ for this activity but not on my shortlist I wouldn t consider NZ at all for this activity I m not sure USA 27% 57% 8% 6% 2% UK 28% 59% 9% 2% 2% Japan 37% 4 12% 2% Germany 48% 9% China 37% 4 13% 2% 3% Australia 28% 53% 16% DATA SOURCES *1 IVS: Statistics New Zealand - International Visitor Survey, Jan Dec 2012 *2 newzealand.com analytics via Adobe Site Catalyst *3 Tourism New Zealand Active Considerer Monitor, Dec Feb