By the numbers: Here’s where NZ’s tourism industry is at

Thursday, 19 June 2025

A raft of new policies and funding for tourism demonstrate the Government’s hopes for growth in the tourism sector.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston has repeatedly said tourism has the potential to become the country’s biggest export earner – again.

Last week Upston announced the Tourism Growth Roadmap for the years to 2034, and said the Government would work with industry to unlock the full potential of the tourism sector.

So here’s a by-the-numbers breakdown of what the Government wants for the sector, and where it’s at currently.

3.89 million

The number of international visitors the Government wants to attract to New Zealand by 2026. That figure would match the pre-Covid levels of 2019.

On launching the roadmap, Upston said her first priority was to grow tourism by increasing the number of international visitors in the short term, and doubling the value of tourism exports by 2034.

$19.8 billion

That is what Upston wants to double the 2023 value of tourism exports to by 2034. As part of that international visitor numbers would hit around 4.78 million.

“International visitors bring billions of dollars into New Zealand, from big ticket spends to everyday purchases in local cafes and accommodation,” she said.

“We want to welcome more visitors to New Zealand, and we want our regional communities to improve their capacity to look after those visitors.”

The roadmap laid out initiatives and investments to ensure the country’s infrastructure, workforce and communities could support further growth, she said.

$35 million

The amount the Government would be investing to deliver the first stage of the roadmap. It comes from the international visitor levy (IVL), which was nearly tripled last year to $100 from $35.

Upston said that first package of investment would prioritise increasing international visitor volumes, with about 80% of it going towards demand initiatives (to attract more visitors) and 20% to supply initiatives (to help destinations cope with more visitors).

It included allocations of $13.5m and $6m for international marketing for core and emerging markets respectively, $3m for business events, $5m for major events, and $4m for improvements to the Milford Road corridor.

While the recent tourism funding had been about boosting visitor numbers, as higher numbers became established the focus of the roadmap would shift to supporting communities to look after them well, Upston said.

$20 million

That’s how much the Government has already allocated to the sector in its tourism boost package, also funded by the IVL.

It included $13.2m for international marketing, $3m for business events, $3m for six regional tourism organisation initiatives to attract international visitors, and $0.8m for the now notorious “everyone must go” Australia campaign.

7

There were seven workstreams announced in stage two of the Government’s roadmap. They focus on the supply side of the tourism equation, and aim to shore up the sector for long-term, sustainable growth.

The workstreams cover workforce, mixed-use tourism infrastructure, regions and communities, tourism system funding, system coordination and data, visitor experience, and aviation and cruise connectivity.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) chief executive Rebecca Ingram said the roadmap and its workstreams provided a clear pathway to help the sector thrive, and to grow its contribution to the economy.

The workstreams were tightly aligned with the key actions identified in the TIA’s industry strategy, she said.

“It will allow for progress on the supply side and the sort of balanced growth the industry is looking for. It is a good plan which will help tourism grow to a better future.”

3.36 million

The number of international visitors who arrived in New Zealand over the year to April, according to the latest Stats NZ figures.

ASB senior economist Mark Smith said that was 14% below the pre-Covid highs of about 4 million, and the challenge would be to try and grow the sector at a time of heightened global uncertainty.

$4.5 billion

The tourism earnings generated by New Zealand’s second and third largest tourism markets - the US and China - over the year to April.

That total was despite visitor numbers from China remaining at about 55% of pre-Covid levels.

Infometrics economist Matthew Allman said arrivals from China had been disappointing and coincided with much slower economic growth than in recent decades.

But arrivals from the US remained strong and had been above 94% of pre-pandemic levels for the past seven months, he said.

132,660

That’s how many Australians visited in April, and it equated to 101% of pre-Covid levels.

Allman said it was the first time Australian arrival numbers were above 2019 levels since the pandemic.

The strength of Australian tourism arrivals could improve further in coming months, due to a host of recent trans-Tasman route announcements, he said.

They include direct flights between Christchurch and Adelaide, Auckland and Perth, and Auckland and Adelaide.

165%

Arrivals at Queenstown Airport were at 165% of pre-Covid levels in April off the back of strong visitor numbers from Australia, Allman said.

But arrivals at the other major airports remained below pre-pandemic levels, led by Wellington (87%), Christchurch (86%), and Auckland (80%).

9.2%

This is the amount international visitor spending increased by in the year to March, the latest MBIE’s International Visitor Survey showed.

The total spend was $12.2 billion, which was 6.4% higher than 2019, and holiday visitors spent $7.6 billion, up 8.8% on 2019.

7.5%

That’s what tourism spending currently contributes to New Zealand’s total GDP.

Visitor spending generated about $44 billion in the year to March 2024, according to the latest Tourism Satellite data.

It made it the country’s second highest export earner. The sector also directly or indirectly provided jobs for more than 303,000 people.