Some years tourism is our biggest export industry - bigger even than dairy. And the signs are extremely worrying.
This article from the NZ Herald suggests that we aare looking at a downturn far greater than the Asian Crisis of 1997.
While this article from Liam Dann says
The tyranny of distance looms large again.
Our tourism industry is bracing for what could be the biggest and ugliest effect of the US credit crunch to hit the New Zealand economy.
The financial crisis in New York and London has had its flow on to the NZX but the real shock will come if US (and British and European) travellers put their passports away.
After a decade long boom, tourism is now this country's biggest earner of foreign dollars.
There is no historical precedent for exactly what sort of slowdown to expect or how dramatically it will impact on jobs and earnings. But the industry is clearly worried.
