A security worker looks at tourists walking at Punta Ballena street in Magaluf, on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca, July 26, 2014. The Punta Ballena area has been famous since the 70's for its nightlife and is a favourite destination for main
IN PHOTO: A security worker looks at tourists walking at Punta Ballena street in Magaluf, on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca, July 26, 2014. The Punta Ballena area has been famous since the 70's for its nightlife and is a favourite destination for mainly young British tourist, according to local media, according to local media. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo Reuters/Enrique Calvo

New Zealand's summer tourism is set to be very exciting. The tourism leaders are thrilled by the demand and are hoping that overseas tourist arrivals will surpass all previous records. This is despite worries over the demand situation from Australia. It has been the biggest market for new Zealand but now dented by the fall in the value of the Aussie dollar.

Cricket World Cup

Tourism Industry Association Chief Executive Chris Roberts claimed that his members are experiencing "an outstanding" season." He said the forward bookings are very strong and a record summer is in sight. "The momentum will increase with the Cricket World Cup starting in February," Roberts said. According to him, the FIFA under-20 football tournament in the middle of 2015 would also raise New Zealand's profile in diverse markets, including South America if the native teams qualified.

According to the latest figures from the government, an overall increase of 5 percent in international arrivals, against the 2.83 million of 2014, would raise the "no vacancy" sign in many tourism hotspots, in the the next two months. For operators, this is a reason to be upbeat about the summer season, reports New Zealand Herald.

Aussie Visitors

The arrivals of Australian tourists in New Zealand in the 12 months until the end of November were 1.24 million, which showed an increase of 3 percent than the previous year. But there was a drop in spending by Aussies. The decline in spending was an average 1 percent as reflected in $2.03 billion. It might be because the Australian dollar has been trading at record lows against its Kiwi counterpart. Roberts said if this situation persists, it will be hurting to the revenues.

On outbound travel, the records of Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed that 1.08 million New Zealanders having visited Australia in 2014, and it showed an increase of 8 percent compared to 2013. The government-funded "Tourism New Zealand" sounded optimistic on Australian arrivals. Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler said he expected more demand coming out of Australia. His view is that Aussie dollar is also trailing against other currencies, and New Zealand can pick up market share from other long-haul destinations, including the United States. The tourism industry leaders also said the strong summer season may stretch the capacity of hotels and other facilities to full, particularly in Auckland and Queenstown. Auckland on weekends and Queenstown during Chinese New Year will be full.

Bay Tourism

Meanwhile, the number of visitors coming to the Bay area has gone up. Tourism industry heads are hoping the upward trend will continue throughout the year. Visitors are also spending more in the Bay than other top tourist destinations such as Rotorua, Northland and the Coromandel. Now the Bay of Plenty has taken the sixth rank in terms of visitor spend after Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown, Christchurch and the Waikato, said a report in NZ Herald.

(The writer can be contacted at kalyandelhi@gmail.com)