Increased spending by international and domestic tourists, saw total tourism spending reach $40.9 billion in the year ended March 2019, Stats NZ has released.
Total tourism expenditure was up 4.0 per cent ($1.6 billion), following an 8.1 per cent increase in the previous year, according to the Tourism satellite account: 2019 released.
International tourist spending increased to $17.2 billion, up 5.2 per cent ($843 million) from the year ended March 2018. The number of short-term arrivals to New Zealand increased 1.3 per cent over the same period.
Spending by domestic tourists increased to $23.7 billion in the latest year, up 3.3 per cent ($746 million).
Other key provisional estimates for the year ended March 2019:
- International tourism expenditure contributed 20.4 per cent to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services.
- Tourists generated $3.8 billion in goods and services tax (GST) revenue, with $1.8 billion coming from international tourists.
- Tourism generated a direct contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) of $16.2 billion, or 5.8 per cent of GDP.
- The indirect value added of industries supporting tourism generated an additional $11.2 billion, or 4.0 pe rcent of GDP.
- 229,566 people were directly employed in tourism (8.4 per cent of the total number of people employed in New Zealand), an increase of 3.9 per cent from the previous year.
