Tourism New Zealand forecasts short term slowdown in visitor economy growth rate

Tourism New Zealand CEO Stephen England-Hall reported (20-Jul-2018) a slow-down in the visitor economy growth rate is expected over the next 12 months, although the middle to long term outlook "remains strong for the growth in both the value and number of international visitors". The slow down is due to changes in travel patterns in some markets, adjustments to airline capacity and route competition and the rollover from "high-impact events" in 2017, such as the Lions Tour of New Zealand. [more - original PR]