Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South Pacific

Australia, New Zealand, Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the and the Islands of the

South PacificSouth Pacific

Australia, New Zealand, and the Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South PacificIslands 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


• 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


• 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

South Pacific Islands and their South Pacific Islands and their physical characteristicsphysical 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

Physical Characteristics of Physical Characteristics of Australia and New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand

1) Australia

• 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


• 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


b) 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


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

New ZealandNew 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.


• 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


• 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

TourismTourism

• 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

TourismTourism

• 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

TourismTourism

• 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

Cook IslandsCook 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

Tourism characteristics, Tourism characteristics, Destinations, and AttractionsDestinations, 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

Tourism characteristics, Tourism characteristics, Destinations, and AttractionsDestinations, 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


Physical Characteristics

• Predominantly mountainous with some large coastal plains

• Climate is temperate

Tourism CharacteristicsTourism 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


• 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


• 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


• 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

Tourist Destinations and Tourist Destinations and AttractionsAttractions

• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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

AustraliaAustralia

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


• 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


• Capital : Canberra• Government : Democratic, federal-state

system• Size : 2.9 million miles• Language : English• Tourist Season: December• Peak Tourist Season : December• Population : 19.4 million


• 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


• 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.


• 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


• Canberra, the capital of Australia

• Modern planned city focusing on Australia’s House of Parliament

Tourist Destinations and AttractionsTourist 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

Tourist Destinations and AttractionsTourist 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

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Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the South Pacific