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The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Department of Conservation (DOC) has released the latest quarterly International Visitor Survey Data (June 2025) that reveals our international tourism sector is off to a strong start in 2025, with impressive visitor spend as the industry continues its recovery post pandemic.
Strong visitor spend from Australia and Asia
The data shows international visitors contributed an estimated $4.55 billion into the New Zealand economy in the March 2025 quarter alone. Australian travellers led the way, spending approximately $1.14 billion, followed closely by visitors from Asia at $925 million. UK travellers, despite lower numbers, continued to punch above their weight with a median spend per visitor of $4,288, the highest of any region.
Holidaymakers spend more, stay longer
Unsurprisingly, those coming for a holiday or vacation were the highest individual contributors, spending a median $4,163 per person and staying an average of 12 days. However, those visiting friends or relatives (VFR) had shorter stays and lower daily spends — yet still played a key role in the total economic impact.
Worth mentioning is the satisfaction scores which were exceptional with 91.5% of visitors reported being satisfied or very satisfied, 96.4% felt their expectations were either met or exceeded and 95.6% said they were likely to recommend New Zealand to others.
Read the full survey here
