Tourism Satelite Account
3 March 2026
StatsNZ
The Tourism Satellite Account, funded by MBIE and produced by StatsNZ, provides a picture of the role tourism plays in New Zealand, with information on the changing levels and impact of tourism activity. The latest report (year-ended March 2025) and table data can be found on the Stats NZ's website.
Key provisional estimates for the year ended March 2025
| Year-ended March | Expenditure | Employment in tourism | Contribution to GDP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | International | Total | Direct | Indirect | Total | Direct | Indirect | Total | |
| 2019 | $23,702m | $17,164m | $40,866m | 220,680 | 150,360 | 371,040 | 5.6% | 3.9% | 9.6% |
| 2020 | $23,824m | $17,687m | $41,512m | 220,809 | 148,329 | 369,138 | 5.4% | 3.7% | 9.2% |
| 2021 | $24,980m | $1,485m | $26,465m | 145,152 | 94,950 | 240,102 | 3.3% | 2.2% | 5.6% |
| 2022 | $25,240m | $1,943m | $27,183m | 128,586 | 85,194 | 213,780 | 3.1% | 2.1% | 5.2% |
| 2023 | $27,975m | $10,601m | $38,576m | 160,023 | 108,891 | 268,914 | 4.1% | 2.8% | 6.9% |
| 2024 (final) | $28,180m | $16,953m | $45,133m | 189,426 | 129,588 | 319,014 | 4.5% | 3.2% | 7.7% |
| 2025 (provisional) | $28,473m | $18,147m | $46,621m | 194,631 | 133,257 | 327,888 | 4.6% | 3.2% | 7.7% |
| 2025 % change on 2019 | 20.1% | 5.7% | 14.1% | -11.8% | -11.4% | -11.6% | -17.9% | -17.9% | -19.8% |
| 2025 % change on 2024 | 1.0% | 7.0% | 3.3% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
For the year ended March 2025 (expressed in nominal terms):
- total tourism expenditure was $46.6 billion, up 3.3 per cent ($1.5 billion) from 2024
- international tourism expenditure was $18.1 billion, up 7.0 per cent ($1.2 billion) from 2024
- as a per centage of total exports, international tourism expenditure was 17 per cent, down 0.2 per centage points from 2024
- international student expenditure (studying less than 12 months) was $4.0 billion, up 4.8 per cent ($184 million)
- domestic tourism expenditure was $28.5 billion, up 1.0 per cent ($293 million)
- household tourism expenditure increased 0.1 per cent ($31 million) to $21.2 billion
- business and government tourism expenditure increased 3.7 per cent ($262 million) to $7.3 billion
- total tourism value added as a proportion of GDP was 7.7 per cent, the same as in 2024
- overseas visitor arrivals increased 4.3 per cent to 3,320,687 people
- 38.8 million guest nights were spent in short‑term commercial accommodation, a 2.7 per cent decrease compared with the previous year
- the number of people visiting for education purposes (studying less than 12 months) was 50,889, up 0.8 per cent (420 students)
- total tourism employment increased 2.8 per cent (8,874 people) to 327,888 people
- the number of people directly employed in tourism was 194,631, up 2.7 per cent (5,205 people)
- direct tourism employment as a share of total employment in New Zealand was 6.8 per cent
Interpretation of data
The data included in the tourism satellite account contains provisional data, so will be subject to future updates. In addition, some of the data may be subject to larger-than-usual updates in future, due to the effects of COVID-19 on the longer time series. Update on COVID-19 and seasonal adjustment has more information.