Queenstown Airport International Passenger Profile Update 12 months to 31 January 2017 Published at 6 March 2017 This report, based on data from Statistics NZ, shows the profile of passengers on trans-tasman flights. It does not include the international visitors who arrive at Queenstown on domestic flights. Annual Summary Queenstown Airport (ZQN) has a higher proportion of passengers who are young, Australian and on holiday than other NZ airports. For the 12 months to January 2017: 29% of Queenstown Airport s passengers arrive on direct international flights. 67% of passengers on international flights are Australian. 48% are under 35 years old. 91% are on holiday or visiting friends or relatives. Seasonality Australian passengers peak in winter. In winter, 79% of trans-tasman passengers are Australian and 49% are Australians under 35 years old. New Zealanders are more evenly spread through the year, but peak in school holidays. Other nationalities peak in summer. Younger passengers peak in winter, especially the 15 to 35 age group. Passengers over 55 years old peak in summer and autumn. Top 5 Markets Australia: 67% of passengers. Growth of 14%. Peak in winter. Half are under 35 years old. New Zealand: 10% of passengers. Growth of 8%. Peak in school holidays. USA: 6% of passengers. Growth of 24%. Peak in summer. UK: 3% of passengers. Growth of 30%. Peak in summer. China: 3% of passengers. Growth of 27%. Peak at Chinese New Year (January/February). Queenstown Airport International Passengers vs Average of All NZ Ports Pax under 35 years Holiday VFR Hol & VFR Business Conf & Conv Bus & Conf Queenstown Airport 48% Queenstown Airport 78% 13% 91% 3% 3% 6% NZ Average - All Ports 39% NZ Average - All Ports 48% 33% 81% 10% 2% 12% Page 1
Passenger Residency Two-thirds of passengers on trans- Tasman flights are Australian, but the international market mix is changing. While the number of Australians is increasing by 14% over the same period last year, other nationalities are growing more rapidly, and the proportion of Australians is decreasing. Chinese passengers on trans- Tasman flights have increased by 27% over the previous 12 month period. Page 2
Passengers by Age Group 48% of passengers on international flights are under 35 years old. Largest age group is the 25-34 year olds, making up 23% of international passengers. Fastest growing age group is 65 years and over, an increase of 24% over the previous 12 months. Queenstown has a higher proportion of young passengers than other NZ airports. QAC International Passengers by Age Group - All Residents Under 15 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 Plus Total Under 35 12 months to Jan 2017 54,948 77,225 122,101 81,667 79,135 65,349 46,712 527,137 254,274 Growth over same period last yr 13% 16% 19% 12% 13% 11% 24% 15% 17% % of QAC International Pax 10% 15% 23% 15% 15% 12% 9% 100% 48% Page 3
Passenger Age and Residency Summary Queenstown Airport s International passenger profile is dominated by Australians, and the Australians have a younger age profile than other residencies. Half of the Australian passengers are under 35. Passengers on trans-tasman flights are 1/3 Australians under 35 years. 1/3 Australians 35 and over. 1/3 New Zealanders and all other residencies. Page 4
Seasonality Australian passengers peak in winter, especially the young Australians. New Zealanders are more evenly spread through the year, but peak in school holidays. Visitors from other countries peak in summer. In winter, 79% of passengers are Australian, but in summer, 58% are Australian. Younger passengers peak in winter, especially in the 15 to 34 age group. Passengers over 55 peak in summer and autumn. Page 5
Young Australians peak in winter. In winter, 49% of passengers on international flights are Australians under 35 years old. Visitors from other countries (excluding Australia and New Zealand) peak in summer. Seasons Summer - Dec to Feb Autumn - March to May Winter - June to Aug Spring - Sept to Nov Page 6
Monthly Passenger Numbers Key Markets Page 7
Passengers by Purpose Compared to other NZ airports, Queenstown has a higher proportion of passengers on holiday, and a lower proportion of business travellers. 91% of passengers on our international flights are on holiday or visiting friends and relatives. 6% are on business, conventions and conferences. Page 8