1. Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South Pacific
Lawrence Sticca, MA, SID
Raffles College

3. Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South Pacific
One of the fastest-growing areas for tourist arrivals
Tourism in the Islands of the Pacific is small, isolated due to their long distances from the rest of the world

4. Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South Pacific
Benefited from their larger size and close cultural and economic ties to Europe and North America
Both nations have highly developed economies that have all the characteristics of developed nations

5. Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South Pacific
Different in physical geography, with one large and the other small, one mineral-rich and the other with few mineral resources, one an island nation and the other occupying a continent

6. South Pacific Islands and their physical characteristics
Islands of the South Pacific region (often referred to as Oceania) can be divided into three island groups : Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
Climate of the islands of the South Pacific is tropical rain forest with year-round precipitation and warm-to-hot temperatures with seasonal winds to temper the high humidity

7. Physical Characteristics of Australia and New Zealand
Desert climate, which limits agricultural activities and settlement, but its large landmass includes some of the general climatic regions
a) Eastern coastal area from Brisbane south to Melbourne has abundant precipitation year-round

8. Physical Characteristics of Australia and New Zealand
Range from humid subtropical in the Brisbane area, which is a major tourist region similar to Miami to the marine west coast in the South around Melbourne and Canberra

9. Physical Characteristics of Australia and New Zealand
Southwestern and southern parts of Australia have a Mediterranean-type climate characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, moist winters, similar to that of Southern California
Important producer of grapes and other crops typical of the Mediterranean climates of Southern Europe and Southern California

10. Physical Characteristics of Australia and New Zealand
c) Northeast region does have the internationally known Great Barrier Reef, which has led to the development of one of the better tourist regions of Australia

11. New Zealand Consists of two large and a number of small islands
North Island contains the majority of 3.6 million residents of New Zealand, which the larger South Island and the small islands have fewer people.

12. New Zealand
Landforms are dominated by high mountain ranges, particularly the Southern Alps of South Island, which reach 12,349 feet at Mt Cook
Extensive park system in the Southern Alps and the major tourist attraction of its highest peak, Mt Cook

13. New Zealand
Climate of New Zealand is a marine west-coast climate, and half of the nation is suitable for intensive grazing
Production of wool and mutton for export for Europe has been the economic activity from the time of the first European settlements

14. Tourism Experienced a rapid rate of growth
Increase in tourists to the islands of the South and Central Pacific, from 682,629 tourists in 1975 to 3,066,535 in 1999 creates an annual average growth rate

15. Tourism
Change in Australia/New Zealand in 1999 represents a growth of over 9 per cent per year
Characterized by its isolation, great distances from the major tourist-generating countries of the world

16. Tourism
Reflects the combination of distance and cultural linkages with former colonial ties
Most of the visitors are from the more adjacent Pacific region, which includes Asia and Southeast Asia

17. Cook Islands Incorporate a variety of geographic settings
Submerged volcanic peaks covered with coral and the steep, raised volcanic peaks of Rarotonga with its narrow, fringing reef

18. Tourism characteristics, Destinations, and Attractions
Only the Cook islands of the remaining Polynesian islands have any tourist industry of consequence and even then it is small, attracting most of its visitors from Australia and New Zealand

19. Tourism characteristics, Destinations, and Attractions
In total 885 rooms in all hotels, motels, guesthouses, and hostels combined
Known for their volcanic mountains, beautiful beaches, and crystal-clear lagoons
Coral reef and lagoons are centers of interest for snorkeling and scuba diving

20. New Zealand Physical Characteristics
Predominantly mountainous with some large coastal plains
Climate is temperate

21. Tourism Characteristics
Remote from the leading world population centers, tourism is one of its fastest growing industries
Government actively promotes tourism, with offices in many of the industrialized nations of the world

22. Tourism Characteristics
Capital : Wellington
Government : Independent State within the British Commonwealth
Size : 103,515 square miles
Language : English
Tourist season : Year-round
Peak Tourist Season : Nov and Dec

23. Tourism Characteristics
Strong ties with the United Kingdom since the early 1800s resulted in colonization by British settlers
Strong tie is expressed in the high numbers of visitors from the United Kingdom arriving for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives

24. Tourism Characteristics
Average stay is about 20 days
80% from State of California, United Kingdom and Japan
Growing Japanese market is a combination of honeymooners and single, female office workers

25. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Encouraged ecotourism both for preservation and as a major source of attractiveness for visitors
Maori culture is a major tourist attraction and is well presented for the visitor
Diverse, scenic physical environment, from subtropical beaches in the north through the North Island’s volcanic and thermal belt

26. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Auckland is the first region, largest city and major international airport
World’s first walk-through aquarium
Delightful collection of restored colonial-style shops
Victoria Street Market

27. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Tot the north of Auckland are the Bay Islands, a subtropical area that is a center for waterspouts
Bay islands Maritime and Historic Park administers, a number of scenic, historic, and recreational reserves

28. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Rotorua on North Island is the largest tourist attraction in New Zealand
Attracting 60% of all holiday visitors to the country
Center of the Maori culture and has a model village museum, and shop selling Maori handicrafts

29. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Wellington, the capital, and its harbor serve as the major link to the South Island
Attractive harbor, wooden houses, and the surrounding forested hillsides add to unusual museum and botanical gardens to provide an interesting attraction

30. Australia Physical Characteristics Low irregular plateau
Within the zones of prevailing westerly winds and the southeast trades, which provide plentiful rainfall on the coast but a very dry interior
Parts of the north are tropical with high annual rainfall

31. Tourism Characteristics
Rapid growth in both tourism numbers and diversity
As large as the United States
Federation of six states and two territories with dependencies, including Christmas Island, Heard and MacDonald Islands etc

32. Tourism Characteristics
Capital : Canberra
Government : Democratic, federal-state system
Size : 2.9 million miles
Language : English
Tourist Season : December
Peak Tourist Season : December
Population : million

33. Tourism Characteristics
Average stay is 23 days
Rapid growth of the Japanese market
Decline in percentage from New Zealand is offset by an increase from Asian nations such as Japan, Singapore and Taiwan and Europe

34. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Sydney and Melbourne, two largest cities have international airports and account for 55 percent of all arrivals in the country
Variety and diversity of attractions resulting from its size and history
Southeast of Australia, represented by Sydney and Melbourne, are the two poles of attraction for tourists.

35. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, is attractive in some ways resembling London, but on a smaller scale e.g. Opera House
Second largest city and the capital of Victoria is the original capital, Melbourne
Major sights e.g. Victoria Cultural Center, War Memorial Shrine, Botanical Gardens

36. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Canberra, the capital of Australia
Modern planned city focusing on Australia’s House of Parliament

37. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Queensland has Australia’s greatest attraction, the Great Barrier Reef, stretching for 1,200 miles along the eastern coast
Excellent access to the spectacular underwater views of the Great Barrier Reef

38. Tourist Destinations and Attractions
Queensland has the greatest tourist destination in such towns as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast
Comparable to the coastal resort developments in Spain and could be similar to Waikiki Beach in Hawaii
Major attractions e.g. Dreamworld, Sea World, Surfer’s paradise

39. South Pacific
Image perceived by the industrialized world: islands of extraordinary and exotic natural beauty with mountains and South Sea vegetation interspersed along the beaches and lagoons, South Pacific cultures with many beautiful native arts and crafts
It is estimated that for every 13 international tourists, one full-time tourist job is generated
Three major origins of tourists: US, Japan, Australian and New Zealand

40. South Pacific
Japanese dominate Guam, Northern Marianas, and New Caledonia
Australia and NZ dominate tourism to Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands
Tahiti receives large number of visitors from the US
Direct linkages for some islands such as Guam, Fiji and Tahiti
Resource base attractions: low coral cays or high volcanic island, tropical and sub-tropical vegetation, coral reefs, beaches