Two tourism groups have joined forces to push for a targeted marketing campaign to attract more working holiday visa (WHV) travellers to New Zealand.
The Backpacker Youth and Adventure Tourism Association (BYATA) and Hospitality New Zealand want stronger action to attract working travellers to New Zealand, and to support the businesses that depend on them.
It comes after Auckland’s Lylo Hostel managing director and entrepreneur Tim Alpe last week called for the working holiday visa age to be extended past age 35 to attract more working travellers to New Zealand.
The visa allows visitors from recognised countries to work, travel and study in Aotearoa for up to 12 months, but visitors from Canada and the UK can stay for longer, and there are reciprocal arrangements with the UK.
Alpe wants the visa age extended from its current 18 to 35 age group up to age 50 saying the number of working holiday visas had been steadily declining and raising the age would make New Zealand unique and attractive.
BYATA and Hospitality NZ were now advocating for Tourism New Zealand to launch a targeted marketing effort in Australia and other key markets, while also asking for supportive government policies to strengthen the WHV pipeline.
They said WHV travellers played a dual role in New Zealand’s economy, “as a vital workforce for hospitality, tourism and other sectors, and as valued customers for backpacker accommodation, adventure tourism operators, and regional businesses”.
The groups also said research commissioned by BYATA and Visa Consulting and Analytics showed working travellers support more than 1.2 local jobs per visitor, and that each dollar spent by youth visitors generates $1.40 in regional economic activity, underlining their importance as both customers and workers.
BYATA chair Haydn Marriner said working travellers were essential to the success of youth and adventure tourism.
Marriner said the number of working travellers in New Zealand had dropped by more than half of 55,000 since 2016.
He said this presented a “pretty significant” opportunity for New Zealand with the government’s tourism roadmap focused on “growing the tourism pie”.
“What better way to do that than to take advantage of the over 300,000 currently landed working holiday visa holders in Australia.
“That opportunity gives us the chance to market to people who are only three hours’ flight away as opposed to trying to get them from the UK, which is a significantly further flight and significantly more expensive as well.”
Marriner said working travellers don’t just pass through New Zealand, they lived, worked and travelled widely while in Aotearoa.
“They’re a key part of our backpacker sector, adventure operators, and regional tourism businesses. Without them, many youth-focused operators would struggle to survive.”
He said the backpacker/adventure tourism and hospitality sector understood the motivations, behaviours, and needs of working travellers better than anyone else.
“We believe Tourism NZ should make this market a priority if we want to sustain regional tourism and keep our industry vibrant.”
Marriner said while the two groups had signed a memorandum of understanding to lobby for the marketing, Alpe made his call to extend the age of the working holiday visa.
He said the two groups welcomed any way to increase tourism numbers into New Zealand “with open arms” but their focus was on the youth market.
“The youth part is probably a key part of what’s important for both ourselves and Hospitality NZ… we share a unique bond in that working holiday visa holders serve not only as our customers, but are also our staff.”
Hospitality NZ spokesperson Sam MacKinnon said the sector relied heavily on working holiday visa holders.
“WHV travellers are behind the bar, in the kitchen, and serving in our cafés, and they’re also sitting at the tables as customers.
“Our industry thrives with them – they are both the people who keep the doors open and the people filling the seats.
“By partnering with BYATA, we’re making it clear there is one united industry voice encouraging Tourism NZ to invest in a strong, sustained campaign to bring more of these young people here.”
The two groups wanted collaborative campaigns that highlighted the economic and cultural contributions of working travellers and stronger industry engagement, ensuring members were actively involved in shaping solutions.
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