2014 a record year for Auckland international tourism

Media release

3 February 2014

2014 a record year for Auckland international tourism

Auckland has reached a significant milestone, welcoming more than two million international arrivals in a 12 month period for the first time ever to help boost the visitor economy.

The latest results from Statistics New Zealand show international arrivals to Auckland for year end December 2014 were 2,029,568, which is an increase of five percent on the previous year.

A steady December month capped off the exceptional year, with international arrivals up 1.6 percent on December 2013.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says this is an excellent milestone for Auckland.

“This record-breaking result supports Auckland’s positioning as a great destination with unique attractions and experiences that have helped earn our city international recognition as a leading tourism destination,” says Mr O’Riley.

The annual growth was largely attributed to a 14 percent increase in arrivals from China, a 11.6 percent increase from Germany, and a 10.4 percent increase in arrivals from the United States of America.

Auckland has also seen consistent accommodation occupancy rates over the past five years, with international guest nights rising 4.5 percent to just over three million.

The overall occupancy rate for Auckland hotels was 82 percent for the year ended December 2014.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown says these exceptional results come hot-on-the-heels of a huge weekend with the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines, and amidst a non-stop summer of major events which is driving visitation to the region.
“We expect this summer to be the biggest on record for events in Auckland. We’re on track to reach one million events-related visitor nights since the launch of ATEED’s Major Events Strategy three years ago,” says Mr Brown.

“This helps to demonstrate the continued success of both the Auckland Visitor Plan and the Auckland Major Events Strategy to grow the visitor economy.”

ATEED – on behalf of Auckland Council – aims to double the contribution from the visitor economy, growing it from $4.8 billion in 2012 to $7.2 billion annually in 2021.

Ends

Notes to editors:

ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) is Auckland’s economic growth agency.

Auckland was named one of the Top 10 Cities to visit in 2014 in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014, which highlights the best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the upcoming year.

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