NZ steps up service provision for growing China tourism market

Chinese visitors to New Zealand will need to carry less cash in future after the signing of an agreement to extend acceptance of China's UnionPay card payments on Tuesday.

The partnership between the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) and card services provider Smartpay will see each TIA member receive one free Smartpay terminal dedicated to UnionPay for six months.

"Chinese cardholders prefer to use UnionPay rather than cash, so it is vital that tourism businesses in New Zealand are able to accept this card," TIA chief executive Martin Snedden said in a statement.

"It will make the visitor experience much more rewarding for Chinese visitors, safer as they will not need to carry as much cash, and encourage them to spend more while they are here."

UnionPay would also be growing its coverage across Asia, so there was a good future fit with New Zealand tourism's emerging markets, he said.

The deal was signed the same day that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) opened applications for the China Market Information Programme, a new initiative to co-fund business research projects on the needs and preferences of Chinese visitors.

The aim of the program is to assist tourism businesses to better target and develop products and services for the Chinese visitor market, according to MBIE.

"One of the key themes to emerge from the China Market Review - released earlier this year by Prime Minister John Key - is the need to ramp up the ability of our visitor sector to adapt to and gain higher returns from the China visitor market. The China Market Information Programme has been designed with that in mind," MBIE tourism policy manager Robyn Henderson said in a statement.

The government had allocated 1.6 million NZ dollars (1.32 million U.S. dollars) over two years for the program and would match private sector investment on a dollar for dollar basis.

China is New Zealand's second largest visitor market and the fastest growing, up 27 percent to 229,184 in the year ending August. It was also the second most lucrative visitor market, with Chinese visitors spending 645 million NZ dollars last year, up 24 percent, according to the TIA.