Here's the latest look at the most interesting travel and tourism statistics of New Zealand, from the number of annual visitors to the most visited cities.
With rolling landscapes and incredible countryside, it’s also known for being the filming location for the world-famous Lord of the Rings franchise.
However, did you know that most of New Zealand’s tourists are from Australia?
Or that the average visitor spends 13.1 days in the country?
Whether you want to learn more about tourism in New Zealand or planning a trip there, we’ve compiled a list of the latest statistics about its travel industry.
Let’s get started!
Sources: We’ve includes the source of every statistic under each of them, or you can head to the bottom of this post for the full list of references and articles.
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13. A survey conducted in Q4 2022 showed that 70% of respondents in New Zealand planned to go on a domestic holiday in the next 12 months.
[Statista]
14. The majority of domestic overnight leisure trips were two or three nights in length (28% reported going on a 2-night trip).
[Statista]
Trips longer than seven nights were picked by 15% of respondents.
15. The most common reason for going on a domestic overnight trip is holidaymaking (50%).
[Statista]
16. As at October 2022, domestic tourism electronic card transaction expenditure was highest in Auckland, at NZ$2 billion.
[Statista]
The economic impact of tourism on New Zealand economy
What percentage of New Zealand is tourism?
17. Before the pandemic, tourism was the largest export industry in New Zealand, contributing 20.1% of total exports.
[TIA]
18. In 2022, international tourists spent around NZ$1.9 billion, or a slight increase from 2021.
[Statista]
19. Meanwhile, domestic tourism expenditure in that year was much higher at NZ$24.5 billion.
[Statista]
20. The total annual tourism expenditure had steadily increased by almost $15 billion, or 55%, in the past seven years before the pandemic.
[TIA]
21. International and domestic tourists spent NZ$6.28 billion on retail products and NZ$2.7 billion on food and beverage services in 2022.
[Statista]
22. In 2022, more than NZ$470 million was spent in international tourism electronic card transaction expenditure in Auckland.
[Statista]
23. The total value added by direct and indirect tourism expenditure in New Zealand amounted to NZ$8.5 billion in 2021, a decrease from NZ$27 billion in 2020.
[Statista]
The pandemic has left its economic consequence on the tourism industry in New Zealand, causing the total value added to drop from NZ$27 billion to NZ$8.5 billion within one year.
24. In terms of GDP, the country’s tourism industry gross domestic product fell by 46% in 2021.
[Statista]
25. In 2022, the tourism sector contributed 5.1% of New Zealand’s total GDP.
[Statista]
26. China is anticipated to become New Zealand’s biggest tourism market by spending, reaching $3.1 billion annual expenditure by 2024, compared to just $3 billion by Australian visitors.
[MBIE]
27. Household tourism expenditure fell by 1.7% ($344 million) from March 2021 to March 2022.
[TIA]
28. At the same time, business and government tourism expenditure increased by 14.2%, or $593 million.
[TIA]
29. In 2022, there were 240 thousand people employed in the tourism industry in New Zealand. This is an increase from the 234 thousand employees in the sector in 2021.
[Statista]
30. Hotels and resorts throughout New Zealand employ a total of 10,342 people.
[IBIS World]
Travel accommodation in New Zealand
How many hotel are there in New Zealand?
31. According to IBIS World, there are 579 hotels and resorts in New Zealand, with the market being worth $2 billion.
[IBIS World]
32. The hotel and resort industry revenue is anticipated to fall by an annualised 3.7% to $1.6 billion between 2018 and 2023, largely due to the pandemic in 2021. This figure includes a significant recovery of 37.4% in 2022 to 2023.
[IBIS World]
33. The leading accommodation type in New Zealand in 2022 for international guests was hotels, which welcomed more than 1 million guests that year.
[Statista]
Hotels are the most preferred type of accommodation for travellers in New Zealand, receiving over 1 million nights in 2022.
34. The second most popular type of accommodation for foreign tourists in New Zealand are backpackers and large motels/apartments, each of which received 560 thousand nights.
[Statista]
Backpackers’ accommodation are also very popular among visitors to New Zealand, with this type of lodging recording 560 thousand nights in 2022 alone.
35. Meanwhile, lodges and boutique accommodations had only around 123 thousand international guest nights in 2022.
[Statista]
36. Hotels are also the favored type of travel accommodation for domestic visitors, with 7.4 million domestic nights recorded in 2022.
[Statista]
37. Domestic tourists enjoy camping in RVs, as shown by the 7.2 million domestic nights spent in holiday parks and camping grounds in New Zealand in 2022.
[Statista]
38. In comparison, international tourists spent a total of 320 thousand nights in holiday parks and camping grounds.
[Statista]
Renting an RV in New Zealand has become a popular way of travelling for domestic and international travellers alike.
39. In 2022, there were more than 24 thousand business entities in the hospitality industry in New Zealand.
[Statista]
This has been a consistent growth since 2013, when there were only 18.57 thousand hospitality enterprises.
40. In 2022, hotels in the city of Wellington had the highest occupancy rate, at 59%, while in Christchurch it was 53%.
[Statista]
New Zealand experienced a fall in hotel occupancy from 2021 to 2022.
41. As of June 2023, there are a total of 10,462 properties in New Zealand on Booking.com
[Booking.com]
Booking.com is the world’s most visited travel and tourism website, and there are currently 10,462 listings there of New Zealand accommodations.
Most visited destinations in New Zealand
What is the most visited city in New Zealand?
42. The most visited city for international tourists in New Zealand is Auckland. It received 448 thousand visitors in 2022.
[Statista]
Auckland is a particularly popular place for RV trips, which is why renting a campervan there is very easy.
43. Queenstown is the next most popular destination with just over a million international visitors in 2019.
[Statista]
In comparison, Auckland welcomed 1.83 million visitors in 2019.
44. Auckland is the top destination for domestic travelers, with 19% of respondents having visited it during their last overnight trip.
[Statista]
Wellington, Taupo, and Christchurch were also among the top domestic destinations for overnight tourist visits.
45. In 2019, the average daily rate for a hotel room in Queenstown was NZ$249, making it the most expensive town to stay in when in New Zealand.
[Statista]
Auckland comes second at NZ$202 per night.
46. In March 2023, Christchurch received 12,490 visitors, an increase of 7% on the prior month, and an increase of 160% on March 2022.
[Christchurch NZ]
Christchurch is a well-known place among tourists in New Zealand, welcoming 12,490 visitors in March 2023 alone. It offers many activities and epic road trip routes, hence the popularity of renting an RV or campervan in Christchurch.
Tourism behaviour in New Zealand
What is the trend in tourism in New Zealand?
47. In the 2022-2023 period, the average holidaymaker in New Zealand stays for 15.42 days, an increase from the average length of 13.1 days in 2019-2020.
[Stats NZ]
48. Visitors who are visiting friends and family in New Zealand tend to stay for longer, at an average of 21.45 days.
[Stats NZ]
49. On average, Australian tourists in New Zealand will stay for 12.52 days.
[Stats NZ]
50. However, tourists from other parts of the world tend to stay for longer, at around 24.25 days per visit.
[Stats NZ]
51. As of April 2023, the annual number of business travellers in New Zealand was 164 thousand.
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I'm an Economics graduate with a passion for travel. In 2016 I decided to ditch the office environment, work from my laptop and travel to every country in the world. You'll find me working out of a cafe in Bali, perhaps on a riverboat in Brazil or maybe even an airport lounge in New Delhi.
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