We show that coating ZnO nanowires (NWs) with a transition metal, such as Ni, can increase the efficiency of light emission at room temperature. Based on detailed structural and optical studies, this enhancement is attributed to energy transfer between near-band-edge emission in ZnO and surface plasmons in the Ni film which leads to an increased rate of the spontaneous emission. It is also shown that the Ni coating leads to an enhanced non-radiative recombination via surface states, which becomes increasingly important at low measurement temperatures and in annealed ZnO/Ni NWs.