Australian visitor arrivals to New Zealand continued to offset softening numbers from other long-haul markets during March and April.  A late Easter led to a 9.2% jump in international arrivals to New Zealand for April 2009. When the two months of March and April are combined, to remove the effect of Easter, arrivals were down 1.8%. Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton said despite an overall slight decline, it was good to see Australian arrivals had increased over the combined two month period.

Total arrivals from Australia were up 7% over the combined months of March and April compared with the same two months last year. Australian holiday arrivals were up 9.8%. "Competition in Australia is mounting for consumers’ travel dollars, both from domestic Australian and international promotional campaigns. Given the current economic climate, it is important for New Zealand to retain our profile in our largest visitor market and to build on the equity we have developed for our brand," Mr Hickton said.