Grant Webster: Tourism Holdings CEO on the boost in international spending, focus on growth

Tourism operators are reaping the benefits of a boost in international visitor spending, but believe there's more work to do. 

International visitor spending has risen by 30% in the year to September. 

It's grown to just under $11 billion. 

Tourism Holdings Chief Executive Grant Webster told Mike Hosking it's around 85% of pre-Covid levels, and they have to focus on growth. 

He says that there have been some barriers put in place with increases in the visitor levy, but 2026 is where they're going to get their market share back. 

Webster says they can manage it more effectively, with more digital capability and companies doing more. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Got some good news from the tourism sector. Boy do
we need that. In the year to September, visitor numbers
up seventeen percent. The key here though, is the spend
spend is up thirty percent, so we brought in eleven
point seven billion, So that's good. Surely. Tourism Holding Step
Executive Grant Websters back, Well, it's Grant. Very good morning
to you.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
And good morning to you.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Are you seeing it?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Aye? Yeah? Absolutely in New zelling you we're seeing both
those stats come through really strongly. I think of note
that visitor spend when you adjusted for inflation, clearly it's
around the same as as visited numbers, so around that's
sort of eighty five percent of pre COVID levels.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
So we're still not cracking one hundred. Do you see
us getting back to do we need to get back
to because every time I talk to a minute so
they go, oh, don't worry about that and talk about
the quality. It's all about the quality.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
No, Look, we have the ability of the infrastructure, and
clearly when you see that growth in total GDP and
that export earnings to New Zealand, it makes sense for
us to continue to focus on getting back to one
hundred percent and beyond. I mean we can manage it.
We can manage it more actively than we did pre
COVID as well, so we've got more digital capability, we've

(01:04):
got better companies doing more things.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
What do you see as that handbreak. I mean some
would argue capacity, the number of airlines and seats isn't
quite back as that, it is an image problem.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
What is it. I think we're actually still suffering from
opening late. I think that's part of it. Then on
top of that, yes, when you look at that growth
rate calendar twenty five, I think is going to be
a bit of a struggle because we've got the air
lowing capacity issue. We've obviously got the barriers put up
by the government this year with increasing the OVL and
visa costs and so forth. So we've actually now got

(01:37):
to get back up in say twenty twenty sticks is
where we're really going to get our market shereback on class.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
So you're talking about general economy in that sense, because
the banks are saying exactly the same thing. Next year
is a grind. Twenty six is where the growth comes.
So tourism aligns with the economy if you like, oh.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Look I think yes, but for those different reasons, we
haven't got that their capacity. We've put up these barriers.
So we've got to get back on the world stage.
And you know, there's still some talk around about Tourism
New Zealand having reduced funding, which in my mind's just idiotic.
We we we give Tea and Zed less per capita
and per GDP than any of our main competitors. We've

(02:14):
got to refocus on growth and pleadingly, the Tourism Minister
has said he's launched a tourism growth roadmap that's going
to come out next year.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Good eased to hear it, Good good, good, all right,
Grant go well. Grant Webster Tourism holding the Sun.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
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