Aussies lead the way as South Island rolls out the tourism red carpet

Friday, 16 January 2026

Tens of thousands of Australian tourists are already flocking to the South Island this summer, and the Government is betting millions of dollars on attracting even more.

A quick stop at a tram station in central Christchurch on Thursday highlighted the city’s popularity, with more than half of visitors The Press spoke to coming from across the Tasman. They included Ross Green and his family from the Gold Coast, spending five weeks travelling from Auckland to the West Coast, Dunedin, Queenstown, and Christchurch.

“We’ve loved the diversity of the South Island — it has everything: beaches, hikes, boat trips … and Queenstown has been the highlight of our journey,” Green said.

First-time visitors Colleen and Barbara from Brisbane are on a two-week circuit tour through Queenstown, Milford Sound, Dunedin, and Mount Cook. They said they were struck by the dramatic contrast between New Zealand’s mountains and snow-covered terrain and their home environment.

“Our favourite spot was Oamaru, even though we only stayed a couple of hours,” Colleen said.

Black Cat Cruises chief executive Paul Milligan said their tours in Akaroa and Kaikōura are enjoying a much stronger summer, with Australians leading the way.

“Yeah, we’ve definitely seen good numbers of Australians coming through,” Milligan said. Overall bookings are up more than 10% on last summer.

He said that last season was hit by poor weather in January, but this year has seen a steady rise. Bookings for February are also strong, with travellers arranging trips further in advance than last year, particularly around Chinese New Year.

“Both our Akaroa and Kaikōura operations aren’t too heavily reliant on the Chinese market, but we do normally see a bit of an uplift through that period,” Milligan said.

Core markets have been “pretty stable,” he said.

“They are Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.”

Forward bookings are especially strong in Kaikōura, while Akaroa tends to receive later reservations, he said.

In the Mackenzie region, Australians are also drawn to the skies. Stargazing operator Go Tekapo recorded up to 4000 bookings in the three weeks from Christmas to early January, not counting tours cancelled due to weather, said manager Boyu Su.

“Among non-Chinese visitors, most come from the United States, India, and European countries, but Australians make up a strong proportion of our bookings,” he said.

“It’s a bit hard to tell exactly how many are from Australia, because many are using New Zealand phone numbers.”

Su said this summer is shaping up to be a bumper season. The Western holiday peak (Christmas and New Year) and Chinese New Year are spaced further apart than last year.

“This year, the more spread-out schedule helps us even out demand and serve more tourists over a longer peak season,” he said.

Adventure tourism is booming this summer, with NZONE Skydive in Queenstown and Skydive Wānaka reporting a surge in bookings.

Li Li, business development and strategic planning manager for Skydive Australia & New Zealand, said Australia and China remain the company’s top markets, with Chinese tourists showing the fastest growth in the past two months.

When asked if New Zealand’s affordability was influencing its popularity, Li said that was not the main factor.

“Compared with similar adventure services in Australia, the key draw isn’t the prices — it’s the premium experiences and the world-renowned scenery,” Li said.

Established in 1990, NZONE Skydive is New Zealand’s first and largest commercial tandem skydiving operation.

“The Chinese market is going to lead the way in February. One possible reason for the surge is the new visa policy, which makes it easier for Chinese nationals living in Australia to travel to New Zealand,” she said.

Canterbury and the West Coast will receive $1 million to launch a new campaign aimed at attracting Australian visitors and showcasing the regions’ best experiences this autumn.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said on Thursday the initiative, called Discover Different, builds on the success of this year’s Winter Different campaign and “aims to attract Australian visitors during the cooler months”.

It will “help local businesses thrive and show visitors what makes Canterbury and the West Coast truly special,” said Upston.

Discover Different is one of five initiatives funded through the second round of the Government’s Regional Tourism Boost, which has now allocated all $10 million across nine campaigns nationwide.

Another of the five initiatives, the Southern Way campaign, has received $459,000 to encourage Australians from the Gold Coast to explore the lower South Island.

“With direct flights from the Gold Coast into both Dunedin and Queenstown, it’s never been easier for Australians to explore everything the lower South Island has to offer,” Upston said.

Figures show a strong mix of visitors to Dunedin this summer, with the majority arriving via cruise ships, plus many Australians taking advantage of direct flights from the Gold Coast, Dunedin mayor Sophie Barker said.

The city’s wildlife tours, Larnach Castle, and scenic train journeys on Dunedin Railways are proving especially popular, with evening blue penguin viewings at Pukekura in high demand, among other attractions.

Airline data highlights the surge in travel to the southern city, with an expected 32,000 Jetstar passengers over the Christmas and New Year period putting the carrier on track for a record summer - largely driven by international flights from Queensland. Air New Zealand also reported that Dunedin was its third most popular domestic destination last year.

Christchurch Airport is carrying more travellers this summer, with airlines adding about 375,000 extra seats between late November and March — an 11% increase on last summer.

In December alone, the airport handled over 640,000 passengers, up 7.4% on December 2024, including roughly 450,000 domestic and 197,000 international travellers.

The largest flows of international tourists are from China and Australia. Over the past two months, arrivals by Chinese travellers jumped by 16,000, up 80%, while Australian visitor numbers grew by 10,000, a 15% increase.

In the year ending last September, around 3.4 million international visitors arrived in New Zealand, contributing about $12.3 billion to the economy — an increase of 5.3% compared with the previous year.

Australians remained the biggest spenders overall, accounting for $3.6 billion, followed by visitors from the United States with $1.8 billion and China with $1.2 billion.

More than 262,000 overseas tourists arrived in October, up 22,500 on 2024. Nearly half of these visitors came from Australia, with around 9% from the United States.