Official figures show tourism spend has reached $39.1 billion
The tourism industry’s tremendous contribution to New Zealand’s social and economic wellbeing has been reinforced by
official industry measurements, says Tourism Industry Aotearoa.
Tourism Satellite Account figures released today show that total annual tourism spend for the year to March 2018 has
reached an estimated $39.1 billion, an increase of 7.7% or $2.8 billion on the previous year.
International visitor spend is up by 9.6% to $16.2 billion, while domestic visitors spend is up by 6.5% to $23 billion.
“This is a continuation of the spectacular growth enjoyed in recent years,” says TIA Communications Manager Ann-Marie
Johnson.
The Tourism Satellite Account is the official annual measurement of the New Zealand tourism industry, compiled by Stats
NZ. It includes measures of tourism spend by international and domestic visitors, the number of people employed directly
and indirectly by tourism, tourism’s share of export earnings and its contribution to New Zealand’s GDP.
Today’s figures show that annual tourism spend is now $10.5 billion a year more than it was in 2014. That’s an extra $29
million dollars a day being spent in communities across New Zealand.
Tourism now provides 20.6% of New Zealand’s total exports. It makes a direct contribution to GDP of 6.1% and a further
indirect contribution of 4.3%.
216,000 people are directly employed in tourism, with a further 149,304 indirectly employed providing products and
services consumed by visitors. That means 13.5% of our total workforce is earning a living from tourism.
“These figures reinforce our insight that tourism will continue to grow and sustain employment across our country. It
means that a career in tourism is a viable and stable choice for young people, which is an area of particular importance
to the industry,” says Ms Johnson.
In 2014, through its Tourism 2025 Growth Framework, the industry set a goal of being a $41 billion industry by 2025. It is well ahead of projected markers to meet that
goal.
The attention of industry leaders is now focused on managing the growth in tourism and sharing the benefits with our
communities.
The number of sign-ups to TIA’s Tourism Sustainability Commitment has now hit 700, a massive achievement which shows a shared industry dedication to economic, visitor, community and
environmental sustainability.
The recent introduction of the Tiaki Promise is another string in the industry bow. Lead by seven tourism organisations and announced by Tourism Minister Kelvin
Davis, the Tiaki Promise outlines what travellers can do to care for New Zealand, travel safely and act as guardians of
our land, waterways and ocean.
“Prioritising the sustainability of the tourism industry ensures we can manage and grow our contribution to New
Zealand’s economy whilst offering more benefits and opportunities to the communities in which we operate,” says Ms
Johnson.
The Tourism Satellite Account figures for 2018 can be found here.
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