New Zealand saw a solid uptick in international travel in May 2025, with both overseas visitor numbers and New Zealand-resident traveller arrivals climbing compared to the same time last year, recent Stats NZ data shows.
The country’s border activity continued to recover to near pre-pandemic levels, driven largely by stronger travel flows from Australia, China, and the United States.
Visitor arrivals rise, led by Australia and China
Overseas visitor arrivals hit 190,600 in May 2025 — up 10,900 from May 2024. This figure represents 87 per cent of the 219,300 arrivals recorded in May 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel.
Australia remained New Zealand’s biggest source of international visitors, accounting for 45 per cent of all arrivals, up from 42 per cent in May 2019. Notable increases also came from China (up 2300) and the United States (up 1300).
Other source markets showed varying changes:
China contributed 9 per cent of arrivals, down from 13 per cent in 2019.
The United States and India each accounted for 9 and 5 per cent of arrivals, respectively.
Visitor numbers from Singapore and the UK also rose slightly from pre-pandemic proportions.
Record May for Kiwi travellers returning home
A record-breaking 239,000 New Zealand-resident travellers returned home in May 2025 — up 15,600 from May 2024, and exceeding the May 2019 total by 2 per cent. Key increases came from Australia (up 6800), Japan (up 2300), and the Philippines (up 1900).
New Zealanders continued to travel frequently to Australia, with 98,500 returning from across the Tasman. Record May numbers were also seen from Fiji (16,000) and China (12,300).
Compared to May 2019, there were notable proportional increases in returning residents from Japan (4 per cent vs. 2 per cent) and India (4 per cent vs. 2 pr cent).
Annual travel trends show broad recovery
In the year ending May 2025, 3.37 million overseas visitors arrived in New Zealand, an increase of 167,000 from the previous year. Australia led the annual growth, contributing an additional 145,000 visitors to reach 1.44 million.
China and the United Kingdom also saw significant gains, with annual arrivals up 24,000 and 18,000 respectively.
On the flip side, New Zealand-resident travellers made 3.03 million return trips over the year — up 136,000 from the previous year. Travel from Indonesia rose sharply (up 31,000), as did trips from China (up 26,000) and Japan (up 20,000). Only New Caledonia recorded a notable decline, with arrivals falling by 12,000.
Border activity nears pre-COVID levels
There were 931,900 total border crossings in May 2025 (437,100 arrivals and 494,800 departures), representing 95 per cent of the 983,600 recorded in May 2019.
Digital Arrival Card gains traction
The New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) — a digital arrival card introduced in July 2023 — has now been adopted by the majority of inbound travellers. In May 2025, more than 60 per cent of all arrivals used the digital version, enhancing processing efficiency without affecting the scope of data collection.
