31 May 2018
Tourism spending data for April 2018 released
The latest Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates (MRTEs) released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment (MBIE) show that tourism expenditure grew in all regions over the year ended April 2018.
MBIE’s Manager of Sector Trends Mark Gordon says that the region with the fastest-growing tourism spend was Canterbury
(up 12.3 per cent to $3.8 billion), followed by Gisborne (up 12.1 per cent to $152 million) and Otago (up 12 per cent to
$3.8 billion).
The strong growth spend in Canterbury region was underpinned by a solid growth from Christchurch city (12.8%) which
accounted for nearly two thirds of total spend in the region, and strong growth in Mackenzie (16.3%), Waimate (26%),
Selwyn (18.%), and Kaikoura (35.3%) districts.
“All regions in New Zealand experienced strong growth in tourism spending over the year, driven by increases in both
domestic and international spend.
“Kaikoura tourism spending has also shown strong signs of recovery, with monthly spending up 85 per cent in April 2018
compared to April 2017. The estimates show that the spending reached $93m, recovering to nearly 80 per cent of
pre-earthquake spending ($118m in the April 2016 year),” Mr Gordon says.
MBIE developed the MRTEs in consultation with the tourism industry representatives to create a better measurement of the
value of tourism in the regions.
“Improved tourism spending for the regions helps the tourism industry plan strategically by providing insight into where
both domestic and international tourists are spending their money. We encourage the industry to use the information in
their planning so we can continue to provide visitors to New Zealand with high-quality experiences.”
View the full statistics from the Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates
ENDS