Tourism by the numbers
Key tourism stats for year to March 2023
- total tourism expenditure was $37.7 billion
- tourism generated a direct and indirect contribution to GDP of $22 billion, or 6.2 percent of GDP
- international tourism’s overall contribution to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services was 11.4 percent
- international tourism expenditure was $10.8 billion. GST paid by visitors was $3.5 billion, of which $1 billion was by international visitors
- domestic tourism expenditure was $26.9 billion
- international student expenditure was $2.1 billion
Employment:
- the total employed in tourism was 317,514. Of these, 189,432 were directly employed in tourism and 128,082 indirectly.
- as a share of the total number of people employed in New Zealand, direct and indirect tourism employment was 11.3 percent.
Source: Tourism Satellite Account - Year Ended March 2023
Other Data Sources
International Travel, Stats NZ
Monthly international travel updates cover the number and characteristics of overseas visitors, and New Zealand resident travellers (short-term movements) entering or leaving New Zealand.
International Visitor Survey (IVS), MBIE
Estimated annual spend by market, survey based, released quarterly. Does not include Air New Zealand fares or short stay students. Estimates by market can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.
Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates (MRTEs), MBIE
Estimated regional spend by domestic and international markets, electronic transactions based, released monthly. Does not include Air New Zealand fares and other spending captured in the Tourism Satellite Account. Monthly estimates by region can fluctuate; annual estimates have a higher degree of certainty.
Accommodation Data Programme, MBIE
The Accommodation Data Programme (ADP) provides information about short-term accommodation activity at national, regional and lower levels. It estimates the guest nights, occupancy rates and other measures relating to the accommodation industry.