Hon Paula Bennett

Associate Minister of Tourism

10 November 2016
Tourism spending continues to grow in regions

Spending by tourists in regional New Zealand continued to rise in the year to September 2016 after another record number of visitor arrivals in New Zealand,Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett says.

According to the Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates released this week by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), tourism expenditure grew in most regions over the year to September 2016 compared to the year to September 2015. The fastest growing region was again Nelson, which increased 13 per cent over the year to $311 million, followed by Otago (up 12 per cent to $3.3 billion) and Auckland (up 9 per cent to $7.4 billion).

“The tourism sector is experiencing exceptional growth, which is bringing more jobs and spending in our regional economies,” Mrs Bennett says.

“The Government is committed to supporting tourism growth in the regions, including through the Regional Mid-sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund projects announced this week. This fund will help communities build new and better facilities to respond to increasing visitor numbers.

“The fund is part of a wider suite of initiatives that form the Government’s tourism strategy to support the regions to benefit from increasing visitor numbers.”

Figures released last month by Statistics New Zealand show tourism contributed $14.5 billion in the year to March 2016, generating 6,600 new tourism jobs. More than 188,000 people are employed in tourism, making up 7.5 per cent of the total workforce.

The full statistics from the Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates can be found here: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/monthly-regional-tourism-estimates

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