Akaroa draws the tourists

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 9

Akaroa draws the tourists

Akaroa and Banks Peninsula are among the most popular attractions for overseas visitors to Canterbury, according to a survey recently published by the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department.

The survey showed that Akaroa scored secondhighest (after walking and tramping) in visitor-satis-faction ratings. It also topped the list of attractions that overseas visitors would have liked to have visited but were not able to because of lack of time.

A total of 808 overseas visitors were interviewed as. they departed from Christchurch Airport over 10 one-week periods be-

tween October, 1983, and September, 1984.

Of this number 117 people (14 per cent) had visited Akaroa, and 108 (13 per cent) had visited Banks Peninsula. Other out-of-town attractions that scored highly were Arthur’s Pass, 107 (13 per cent), and Hanmer Springs, 43 (5 per cent).

Overseas visitors were asked how they rated their enjoyment of the attractions they had visited.

Again Akaroa scored 4.82 out of five. A score of five indicated the visitor was “very satisfied” and a score of one “extremely dissatisfied.”

Shopping and eating at

restaurants in Christchurch were the most frequently reported activities, although these were not always the most enjoyed by the visitors interviewed, said the survey.. Cathedral Square was the most frequently visited venue in Christchurch, attracting about 65 per cent of the visitors interviewed. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens and the Canterbury Museum were the next most popular attractions.

The survey said that the strongest appeal to visitors depended ..on access to attractions outside the central city area.

Most of the highestrated attractions were outside such as

walking, tramping, and jet boating, as well as visiting Banks Peninsula and Hagley Park in Christchurch. The activities were not mutually exclusive, which meant visitors might have been walking and tramping on Banks Peninsula, in Hagley Park, or elsewhere, said the survey. International visitors departing from other centres in New Zealand were also interviewed. All the visitors had stayed in New Zealand for six months or less.

In the survey, the director of policy and research for the department, Mr V. Jeal, agreed that the results were "somewhat

tentative” in that not all international visitors to the regions were eligible to be interviewed, and the sample sizes of visitors to some regions were small. Visitors’ comments on regional attractions were now up to zy 2 years old, during which time attractions could well have been improved and new attractions developed, he said.

In spite of this, the information contained in the report gave some indication of the views of international visitors to the regions covered, and should be of some assistance to regional bodies planning marketing strategies for their regions, Mr Jeal said.