Tourism operators in New Zealand have expressed concern over the consistent rise of the NZ dollar against the Euro, making the cost of vacation way too expensive for European tourists.

Inbound Tour Operators Council president Martin Horgan told TVNZ that said in the past two years the NZ dollar had risen 21% against the euro, and this is not going to help boost tourism revenue from the Europeans.

"These traditional markets remain important to tourism. Declining arrivals from Europe will affect every corner of the country," Horgan said, adding that Europeans usually stayed long when they came for vacations, to "reach every corner of New Zealand."

In contrast, Chinese visitors, typically stay for about three or four nights.

"My concern is that during these tough times it's easy for Tourism New Zealand to get good results out of China - a market that's going to grow regardless of how much we spend there. But Europe is a much more difficult proposition and it's not something I want to see the industry giving up on just because the dollar is high," Horgain said.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler echoed Horgan's sentiments, saying the global financial crisis was indeed having an impact on international travel from European markets.

"There's no doubt the dollar presents extra challenges to generating visitors because it affects demand as well as spending," Bowler said.

To mitigate the effects of the rising NZ dollar, Bowler said his office had continued to invest in a variety of marketing programmes in the United Kingdom and western Europe. Activities such as trade training, joint promotions with airlines, international media visits and advertising campaigns were all being tried out for the purpose of attracting European visitors.

"These things are designed to appeal to those with an interest and ability to travel here, with particular focus on higher value market segments to overcome financial barriers," he said.