This release includes total results from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) for the year ending December 2024 and separately for the December 2024 quarter.
Top-line results can be found on MBIE’s Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre (TEIC).
Microdata is also published on MBIE’s website.
Notes on interpreting results
All spend figures and percentage changes are in nominal terms (not adjusted for inflation) unless stated otherwise. Stats NZ Consumer Price Index was used to adjust spend figures for inflation (real terms), to account for how much of the extra spending by tourists is being driven by higher prices.
Please note when comparing figures with 2019, we adjusted the 2019 figures for inflation to account for how much of the extra spending by tourists was being driven by higher prices. Prices increased by 23.3% from December 2019 to December 2024, while the annual increase was only 2.2% in the year ending December 2024. This is low enough that inflation adjustment isn’t necessary for annual changes.
We advise caution when using and interpreting quarterly results, as quarterly level statistics have a higher margin of error than annual level statistics due to the smaller sample size resulting from a shorter survey period.
For the year ending December 2024, the market breakdown includes Total, Australia, UK, USA, Rest of Europe, Asia, Germany, Canada, Rest of World, and China.
Please note that Asia excludes China, which is reported separately due to a larger sample size compared to the same period last year. As China was reported as part of the ‘Asia’ grouping in the previous year’s release (year ending December 2023 and December 2023 quarter), no direct comparison is made for Asia and China.
Further details on data quality, including sample sizes, response rates and margin of errors, are available here.
Key highlights for year ending December 2024
Results cover 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Annual spend increased 23% and visitor arrivals increased 12%
- International visitors contributed $12.2 billion to New Zealand’s economy – For the year ending December 2024, international tourism generated a total of $12.2 billion, up 23% from 2023.
- International tourism remained the second highest export earner – behind dairy ($20.2 billion) and ahead of meat and edible offal ($8.6 billion).
- International visitor numbers were up 12% - For the year ending December 2024, 3.31 million visitors came to New Zealand, up from 2.96 million in 2023.
- Visitors from Australia had the highest total spend – Visitors from Australia spent $3.5 billion (up 3%), followed by visitors from Asia at $1.9 billion, and the USA at $1.7 billion (up 21%).
- Visitors from Germany had the highest median spend – Visitors from Germany had the highest median spend per visitor ($6,293), an increase of 6% from 2023. Australians spent the least per visitor at $1,955, down 4% from 2023. A higher median spend per visitor generally correlates with the length of visit; the longer the visit the greater the overall spend per visitor.
- Visitors from China had the highest daily spend – Visitors from China spent the most per day ($368), followed by visitors from USA ($333, down 8% from 2023) and Asia ($297). The UK had the lowest median daily spend at $188, although this increased 15% from 2023.
- Overall median spend per visitor and daily spend increased – The median spend per visitor for all countries was $2,764, an increase of 7% from 2023. The median daily spend for all countries was $286, an increase of 9% from 2023.
- Length of stay is similar to 2023 – The median length of stay for all visitors was 10 days, consistent with 2023. Visitors from Germany stayed the longest, with a median length of stay of 25 days, followed by other European visitors at 21 days.
Visitor spend saw a small increase from the year ending September 2024
- Visitor spend from all countries slightly increased – For the year ending December 2024, visitor spend rose by 5% to $12.2 billion from $11.7 billion for the year ending September 2024.
- Visitors on holiday/vacation spent more – Spend by visitors on holiday/vacation increased by 5% to $7.4 billion when compared to the year ending September 2024. The same is true for those visiting friends/relatives at $2.6 billion, up 2%.
- Visitor spending on accommodation increased slightly – Total visitor spend on accommodation was $3.1 billion, an increase of 4% from $3 billion for the year ending September 2024. Visitors from Australia collectively spent the most on accommodation at $1 billion, while visitors from Canada spent the least at $71 million.
Annual spend continues to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels
- When adjusted for inflation, visitor spend for the year ending December 2024 was at 86% of 2019 levels, or $9.9 billion. This is aligned with the visitor numbers which is at 85% of pre-pandemic levels, 3.31 million for the year ending December 2024 when compared with 3.89 million for the year ending December 2019.
- In real terms, the median spend per visitor for all countries was at $2,242, or 90% of 2019 levels, and median daily spend was at $232 or 90% of 2019 levels.
Key highlights for December 2024 quarter
Results cover 1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Visitor spend was up from December 2023 quarter
- International visitors brought $3.2 billion into New Zealand – International visitor spend was $3.2 billion during the December 2024 quarter, a 20% nominal increase from the same quarter in 2023. Australian visitors remain the single largest market, spending $817 million during the quarter.
- International tourism remained the second highest export – behind dairy ($6.5 billion) and ahead of meat and edible offal ($2.2 billion) for the December 2024 quarter.
- Median spend per visitor increased – Median spend per visitor increased 22% from the December 2023 quarter, reaching $3,046 in the December 2024 quarter.
- Median length of stay remained unchanged at 9 days – when compared to the same quarter in 2023.
- Visitors on holiday/vacation spent more – Spend by visitors on holiday/vacation increased by 20% ($1.6 billion to $2 billion).
- Net promoter score increased by 5 points to 69 – The net promoter score (NPS) measures the net effect of visitors’ likelihood to recommend New Zealand as a holiday destination to others. A score of 69 means that visitors had a positive experience in New Zealand and are more likely to recommend it as a holiday destination to others.
Travel purpose has shifted compared with the same quarter in 2023
- For the December quarter 2024, visitors coming for a holiday/vacation (with median spend of $4,059) increased to 49% of all visitors, up from 45% in the December quarter 2023, while visitors coming to visit friends and relatives (with median spend of $1,650) stayed at 35%.
- Visitors travelling for a holiday spent more than those coming to visit friends and relatives. As the proportion of international visitors coming for a holiday/vacation has increased while visiting friends and relatives remained the same, this visitor category contributed to the increase in overall visitor spend (20%) from the same quarter last year (since visitor arrivals recorded a 9% increase).
Future data releases
The next data release will include results from the March 2025 quarter and will be released on 3rd June 2025. The tourism data release calendar on the MBIE website has release dates to June 2025.
April 2025
- 14 April - (S) – International travel: February 2025
- 25 April – Accommodation Data Programme: March 2025
May 2025
- 14 May - (S) – International travel: March 2025
- 28 May – Accommodation Data Programme: April 2025
June 2025
- 3 June – International Visitor Survey: March 2025 quarter
- 11 June - (S) – International travel: April 2025
- 25 June – Accommodation Data Programme: May 2025
