Media coverage coloring New Zealanders' views of Asia: survey

New Zealanders are feeling more connected to Asia despite rising concerns over the effect of Asian investment on areas such as house prices, according to a major annual survey out Wednesday.

Sixty-three percent of people said they knew little of nothing about Asia, according to the New Zealanders' Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples poll from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

However, 82 percent felt it was important for New Zealand to develop economic and cultural ties with the region.

It also found 51 percent of people reported having at least a fair amount to do with Asian peoples and cultures -- up from 30 percent in 1998.

Only 25 percent of respondents felt Asian people did not mix well with New Zealanders, which was the lowest level ever recorded by the survey.

The survey also found increased concerns about investment from Asia and the impact of Asian buyers on the housing market.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed believed New Zealand was allowing too much investment from Asia -- up from 41 percent in 2014 -- while 48 percent believed Asian people were responsible for rising house prices, up from 39 percent in 2014.

Three-quarters of respondents recalled media coverage of Asia-related events in the period leading up to the survey, the highest ever percentage recorded, but most of that group recalled negative coverage.

Asia New Zealand Foundation executive director Simon Draper said the survey showed media coverage played an important role in influencing New Zealanders' views of Asia.

"The foundation has been carrying out this survey for nearly two decades and the general trend has been increasing positivity towards Asia and its peoples. But we have seen a few peaks and troughs related to current affairs," Draper said in a statement.

"In 2016, New Zealand is connected to Asia in a way that it just wasn't when the Asia New Zealand Foundation first carried out this survey in 1997. There's no doubt that New Zealanders know more about Asia than they did then, but there is still a long way to go."

The Asia New Zealand Foundation is the country's main non-government organization on New Zealand-Asia relations and works in five main areas: business, arts and culture, education, media, and research.