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Stats NZ data released today, May 14, shows annual arrivals have increased since March 2023, and March 2024 likely saw a boost in overseas arrivals thanks to the Easter holidays in late March – early April this year.
Annual arrivals
Overseas visitor arrivals were 3.18 million in the March 2024 year, increasing by 984,000 from the March 2023 year. The biggest changes were in arrivals from China (up 177,000 to 211,000), Australia (up 167,000 to 1.29 million), the United States (up 149,000 to 376,000), India (up 51,000 to 88,000), Korea (up 41,000 to 70,000), and Japan (up 34,000 to 60,000).
New Zealand-resident traveller arrivals were 2.84 million in the March 2024 year, increasing by one million from the March 2023 year. The biggest changes were in arrivals from Australia (up 391,000 to 1.13 million), China (up 109,000 to 126,000), United States (up 60,000 to 168,000), Fiji (up 44,000 to 205,000), Japan (up 43,000 to 61,000), Samoa (up 40,000 to 66,000), and Indonesia (up 36,000 to 58,000).
Monthly arrivals of overseas visitors
Overseas visitor arrivals were 340,300 in the March 2024 month, increasing by 74,200 from the March 2023 month. The biggest changes were in arrivals from Australia (up 21,100), United States (up 13,200), China (up 10,000), Korea (up 3,200), United Kingdom (up 2,600), Taiwan (up 2,400), Japan (up 2,300).
The March 2024 number of overseas visitor arrivals was 90 percent of the pre-COVID-19 number of 378,300 in March 2019.
March 2024 visitor numbers were likely boosted by the timing of the Easter holiday, which was in late March in 2024 and in early April in 2023.
Of the 340,300 overseas visitor arrivals in March 2024 39 per cent were from Australia (compared with 36 percent in March 2019), 16 per cent were from the United States (13 percent in March 2019), 6 per cent were from the United Kingdom (6 percent in March 2019), and 5 per cent were from China (11 percent in March 2019).
Monthly arrivals of NZ resident travellers
New Zealand-resident traveller arrivals were 190,300 in the March 2024 month, increasing by 28,300 from the March 2023 month. The biggest changes were in arrivals from Australia (up 23,800), China (up 5,200), Japan (up 1,900), United States (up 1,500), Fiji (up 1,300), Cook Islands (up 1,200), and India (down 1,100).
The March 2024 number of New Zealand-resident traveller arrivals was 98 percent of the pre-COVID-19 number of 195,000 in March 2019.
Of the 190,300 New Zealand-resident traveller arrivals in March 2024 51 per cent were from Australia (compared with 52 per cent in March 2019), 7 per cent were from India (5 per cent in March 2019), 5 per cent were from Fiji (5 per cent in March 2019), 5 per cent were from the United States (6 per cent in March 2019) and 5 per cent were from China (5 per cent in March 2019).
Border crossings
There were 1.13 million border crossings in March 2024, made up of 541,900 arrivals and 588,600 departures. In February 2024 there were 1.12 million border crossings.
March 2024 border crossings were 92 per cent of the 1.23 million in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
