south island lake
If you are in Christchurch and want to drive to Queenstown you should do it via Lake Tekapo. You will also see Lake Pukaki on your way. The views are amazing! You will be driving and stopping for pictures every 10 minutes!
Changes in the New Zealand tourism industry
Lake Pukaki, South Island of NZ
Chinese tourists represent almost 30% of all the arrivals in New Zealand. It’s a market that offers no access to local operators. They arrive here with their own tour guides (if we can call them guides) and hire coaches below the acceptable standards of comfort. They do not fail in our quite rigid 6-month (COF – certificate of fitness) inspection and therefore do not offer any dangers for us driving on New Zealand roads. But when we talk about the quality of service the Chinese are getting…that’s a different story.
We can’t forget the fact that they are also taken to souvenirs shops owned by their own people and charged a higher price. Yes, Chinese ripping off their own people! When they leave the shops the owners change the prices (lower prices) again.
A couple of years ago the government decided to ‘control’ their stay here by monitoring the itinerary taken by the group. It was the launch of the ADS – Approved Destination Status.
Now the Chinese tourists can look forward to better quality group tour experiences, following changes to the ADS programme released this week. A revision of the ADS Code of Conduct, jointly developed by Tourism New Zealand and the Ministry of Tourism, will help address quality issues impacting travel from China and improve the value of this market.
Shopping is the area in focus now and souvenir shops will be visited by ADS tours requiring a Qualmark endorsement from 1 January 2011. The shops must go through a strict control and display the logo you see above.
The Chinese have to adapt themselves to our way of living and doing business once visiting the country, and to do that the New Zealand government needs to enforce the laws in place, and monitor the tour group while visiting us, whether they like it or not!
What we all want is that ALL tourists get to experience the best New Zeland has to offer, such as the awesome views Lake Pukaki has to offer (above picture).
