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$2.8bn youth tourism sector driving visitor growth but more needs to be done for youth tourism as BYATA looks to next phase of growth That was the message at the 15th Annual BYATA Conference calling on industry and government to build on those gains and turn recovery into sustainable growth.
Held in Tauranga August 17 and 18, this year’s conference theme was Cultivating Success: Making the most of those green shoots.
Tourism New Zealand and Tourism Industry Aotearoa helped set the wider industry context, with international arrivals now sitting at around 94 per cent of 2019 levels, up from around 86 per cent a year earlier. TIA chief executive Rebecca Ingram says that the improvement reflects work across Tourism New Zealand, regional tourism organisations and the wider industry.
Within that recovery, youth travel continues to show its importance. Data presented at the conference showed travellers aged 18 to 34 accounted for 31.5 per cent of New Zealand holiday arrivals to the end of June 2026, up from 29.5% just 2 years ago and representing $2.8bn worth of economic impact.
BYATA president Brian Westwood says despite the fantastic growth in our sector and hard work being done by all layers of the tourism ecosystem, youth tourism, as an identifiable sector remains largely unseen within national tourism strategies and national policy makers.
In stark contrast Australia’s national tourism body formally recognises working holiday makers as one of their four core high value segments within its 2035 Tourism Strategy. Youth leisure and working holiday maker visitors contribute 38% of their overall visitor value.
It is an approach which is leaving New Zealand youth tourism growth in the dust, in particular the support for the working holiday visitor market.
Despite the clear evidence New Zealand policy decisions and investment remains blind and non-existent towards youth, especially in relation to the working holiday market.
Working holiday figures are a clear demonstration of this, falling from 65,000 in 2018 to 38,000 in 2026. The Tourism Industry Association states we need 100,000 more workers to reach the growth goals of Government, but we simultaneously refuse to support the attraction of working holiday makers who provide an essential workforce for regional and seasonal products. Covid taught us, in no uncertain terms, that New Zealanders will not do these regional or seasonal jobs, when there were no internationals in country.
“TIA has also helped broaden the picture by showing that younger travellers are not just here for holidays. They are travelling for business, conferences, working holidays and a range of other reasons.”
Tourism data presented by Rebecca showed younger visitors contributing across holiday, business and conference travel.
A major theme across the two days was the need to better understand the full value of youth travel.
Angus and Associate’s research company presented a sobering analysis of youth tourism’s perception as being stuck at the losing end of past discussions of high value vs low value visitors based on poor assumptions and biases towards luxury product.
Angus & Associates founder and chief executive Cristine Angus challenged the sector to look beyond daily spend and consider the wider contribution of younger visitors, including longer stays, regional dispersal, workforce participation and the lifetime relationship they can develop with New Zealand.
“We need better data and trusted research to cut through opinion and assumptions so we can clearly demonstrate the full value of our sector,” Brian says
The conference also highlighted how tourism businesses are responding to changing travellers. LyLo shared how customer insight is shaping new accommodation experiences, AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand demonstrated how young frontline employees are being developed into digital content creators, and Ben and Sienna Boyce explored how authentic social media is changing the way younger audiences discover destinations.
Headline speaker Ian Jones brought the focus back to leadership, culture and giving the next generation a genuine voice within organisations.
The conference also marked the end of Haydn Marriner’s five-year tenure as BYATA Chair, with Brian thanking him for his leadership and contribution to the association and wider youth tourism sector. Rebecca also acknowledged Haydn’s five years of service during her conference address.
“Haydn has given an enormous amount to BYATA over the past five years.
“His energy, leadership and commitment have helped strengthen the association and ensure youth tourism continues to have a strong voice.
“On behalf of our board and members, we sincerely thank him for everything he has contributed.”
Brian says the overall message from the conference was one of optimism, but also action.
“The green shoots are there. “We are seeing visitors return, Tourism New Zealand putting more attention into understanding youth, TIA helping strengthen the evidence and tourism businesses continuing to innovate.
“Our job now is to nurture that momentum with good data, smart policy, strong partnerships and investment in our people. “That is how we turn green shoots into sustainable growth.”
