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Strong growth in international visitor spending helped lift New Zealand’s services exports by $1.6 billion in the March 2026 quarter, according to new figures from Stats NZ.
Services exports increased 17 per cent to $11.5 billion compared with the same quarter last year, with travel services accounting for more than 80 per cent of the overall increase.
Travel leads growth
Travel services exports rose $1.3 billion, or 23 per cent, to $7 billion in the March 2026 quarter.
Stats NZ international accounts spokesperson Viki Ward says travel spending continues to be a major driver of export growth.
“Travel services accounted for more than 80 per cent of the increase in total services exports in the March 2026 quarter.
“March quarters are the peak for expenditure on travel services.”
Travel exports measure spending on goods and services by international visitors while in New Zealand.
Holiday travel boosts exports
Within travel services, personal travel expenditure increased $1.2 billion, or 22 per cent, to $6.7 billion.
Business travel exports also recorded strong growth, rising $144 million, or 65 per cent, to $364 million.
The largest contribution came from other personal travel, which includes holidaymakers and people visiting friends and relatives. This category increased $1 billion, or 24 per cent, to $5.4 billion.
Education-related travel exports rose $157 million, or 14 per cent, to $1.3 billion.
Australia remains key market
Australia continued to be New Zealand’s largest source market for visitor spending.
“Visitors from Australia accounted for $1.3 billion of other personal travel exports,” Viki says.
“Australia is our largest source of overseas visitor arrivals. There were 409,200 overseas visitors from Australia in the March 2026 quarter – 36 per cent of total visitor arrivals.”
China remained the largest market for education-related travel exports, contributing $403 million during the quarter.
Other export gains
Beyond tourism, transportation services exports increased $179 million, or 15 per cent, to $1.4 billion.
Other business services rose $170 million, or 19 per cent, to $1 billion.
Services imports also rise
Services imports increased $794 million, or 9.8 per cent, to $8.9 billion during the same period.
The largest increases were recorded in:
| Category | Increase | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Other business services | $253 million | $1.7 billion |
| Telecommunications services | $130 million | $1.2 billion |
| Transportation services | $75 million | $1.8 billion |
| Travel services | $73 million | $1.8 billion |
The figures highlight the continuing importance of international tourism to New Zealand’s export economy, particularly during the peak summer travel season.
