Hours before the launch of Queenstown's Winter Festival at the start of the winter tourist season, a panel of business leaders warned tourist operators they faced the challenge of keeping their markets, while also courting the growing Asian market.
Recently-appointed Telecom chief executive Simon Moutter was blunt in his assessment: "There is no point waiting on the European market to come back ... it is adapt, or die."
Asia, he said, was the new global engine and it would be the New Zealand tourism industry's job to capture it - not the Government's.
"Without wanting to belittle the challenges of the tourism industry, I am questioning the approach of tourism leaders ...
"Frankly I am bored with people in the industry moaning."
Mr Moutter was part of a high-powered panel including Bruce Parton, of Air New Zealand, Kylie Archer, of the Ministry of Economic Development, and Justin Watson, of Tourism New Zealand, who were all heard by guests such as Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd, mayor Vanessa van Uden, and Ngai Tahu Tourism chief executive David Kennedy.
The key message they each had was Queenstown needed to act, and Mr Moutter said winning the Asia tourism market was about producing a relevant product and marketing it effectively and widely.
Although New Zealand is a small voice in a fragmented market, he said, Queenstown was a great seasonal destination and should be tailored to new markets, namely the Chinese.
Ms Archer commended Winter Festival organisers for the job they did each year to host the 10-day event.
"Events mean money."
Hosting an event was important to the region, as it built new business relationships and helped build "vibrant communities", she said.
Event visitors spend more money than regular tourists by a considerable margin, she said, and she promised the Government would get behind those events that were successful.
The criteria an event had to meet for Government funding was the attraction of economic, social and cultural interest, and it must have a developed profile, significant media coverage and significant support from its local government.
Tokyo had spent $200 million on its bid alone for the Olympics she said and challenged Queenstown to put an amount of funding into events.
"If you really want to be a destination, what are you willing to invest?"
Mr Martin said one market not to be forgotten or taken for granted was the Australian market.
Australia makes up half of the country's tourism market and had climbed 4% in recent times, but this was not a given continuation, he said.
Of 190,000 skiers and snowboarders in Australia, 19,000 were seen in New Zealand and this could be improved, he said.
"We need to push the skiing fraternity in Queensland and New South Wales.
"If you do twice as good, you double your tourists. It's easy maths."
Flights between the two countries were not going to get cheaper he said and warned the industry the biggest mistake would be to not work together.
