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New Zealand residents made a record 730,200 trips to Asia in the June 2025 year, according to data released by Stats NZ.
“Short-term trips to Asia by New Zealand residents were up 20 per cent in the June 2025 year, compared with the year before,” international travel statistics spokesperson Bryan Downes says.
“This increase was mainly driven by more trips to Indonesia, China, Japan, and India.”
The increase in trips to Asia coincided with a 6 per cent increase in direct flights to the region in the June 2025 year, compared with the June 2024 year.
China was the leading Asian destination that travellers returned from, followed by India, Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.
The Asia region accounted for 24 per cent of short-term overseas trips by New Zealand residents in the June 2025 year. This was up from 21 per cent in the June 2019 year, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, there were 3.0 million New Zealand-resident arrivals in the June 2025 year, a 128,300 (4 per cent) increase from 2.9 million in the June 2024 year. Australia remained the top destination for New Zealand-resident travellers, with 1.2 million arrivals, up 6 per cent from the June 2024 year.
New Zealand-resident travellers include both New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens living in New Zealand who are returning from a trip overseas of less than 12 months.
Holidays to Asia grow in popularity
In the June 2025 year, 316,100 New Zealand-resident travellers returned from holidays in Asia, up 34 per cent from the June 2024 year.
The most visited Asian countries for a holiday were:
Indonesia (82,800)
Japan (62,200)
Thailand (33,400)
China (32,800).
“Among destinations worldwide, Indonesia and Japan saw the largest growth in holiday travel by New Zealanders in the June 2025 year, up 27,700 and 16,900 respectively, compared with the year before,” Bryan says.
“A holiday was the most reported reason for travelling to Asia by New Zealanders in the June 2025 year, followed by visiting friends and relatives.”
In the June 2025 year, 274,500 New Zealand-resident travellers returned from visiting friends and relatives in Asia, up 19,500 (8 per cent) from June 2024, with India, China, and the Philippines being the top three destinations.
