Just a little over a week ago, it was announced that the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism event is back on.
During the official visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in March 2017, the New Zealand and China governments jointly announced the launch of the 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism.
The initiative is poised to see Chinese visitors spend $1.7 billion in New Zealand, with projections to reach $3.06b a year by 2024, according to Tourism New Zealand statistics.
China is New Zealand's second-largest international tourism market with approximately 500,000 visitors every year, contributing about $1.46 billion to the New Zealand economy.
The launch of the 2019 event in February was shelved just over a week before it was due to start, despite being planned for two years. It was soured by after the GCSB's rejection of Huawei's bid to roll out Spark's 5G network late last year.
Now with the opening ceremony to be held at Te Papa on 29 March, the following is an opinion piece I for wrote for the NZ Retail Magazine and The Register on how retailers throughout NZ should ready themselves for this influx of visitors and just what the event is all about.
If you are a retailer who wants to ensure that you can put your best foot forward to make the most of this special celebration then this article is just for you.
