International visitor spend on the up

International tourism contributed $4.5 billion to New Zealand’s economy in the March 2024 quarter, an increase of 34 per cent (adjusted for inflation) from the same quarter in 2023, new data released by MBIE shows.

For the year ending in March 2024, international tourism was worth a total of $11.2 billion, making it the second highest export earner only behind dairy. This equates to $8.9 billion or 80 per cent when compared to pre-pandemic levels and adjusted for inflation. 

Visitor numbers have similarly returned to 82 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, meaning growth in international visitor spend almost matches growth in visitor arrivals.

Higher spending visitors such as visitors from China and those who come for holidays or business are now returning. Proportions of visitors who tend to spend less, such as visitors staying with friends and family and Australian visitors, are now also decreasing to pre-pandemic levels after a bump during the past two years.

Visitors from the US spent the most each day ($349 – 95 per cent of pre-pandemic levels), and visitors from Germany spent the most on their visits overall ($6373 – equal to pre-pandemic levels). Elsewhere, visitors from Canada, Germany, and Australia have reached or slightly exceeded pre-COVID daily spend levels. 

Visitors are staying for less time compared with 2019. Median length of stay for all visitors was 9.5 days compared with 12 days in 2019, largely driven by a decrease in length of stay by Chinese and other visitors from Asia.

The International Visitor Survey measures the expenditure, characteristics and behaviours of international visitors to New Zealand.