Hon Louise Upston
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston has welcomed news that New Zealand’s tourism sector continues to gather strength, according to latest data out today.

The Tourism Satellite Account released by Stats NZ shows total tourism expenditure in New Zealand of $44.4 billion for the year ending March 2024, an increase of $5.6 billion or 14.6 per cent compared to March 2023.

Overseas visitor expenditure increased by $6.3 billion (59.9 per cent) to $16.9 billion

“The big story is that international expenditure grew almost 60 per cent in the year ending March 2024,” Louise Upston says.

“This encouraging news reflects a healthy recovery following the end of border restrictions in June 2022 and shows that many people all over the world couldn’t wait to visit New Zealand.

“We know tourism is critical to our economic growth. That’s why as a Government we’re laser focused on partnering with the sector to continue this growth - already this month, we’ve announced:

• $500,000 for marketing New Zealand as the ‘go now’ destination for Australians
• $30 million to support conservation visitor related experiences
• $3 million for regional tourism boost
• $9 million for Great Rides cycle infrastructure

“Tourism now contributes 7.5 per cent of GDP according to this data – and continues to be our second highest export. I want to see it back at number 1.

“We do also recognise a drop in domestic tourism spend reported today. That’s another reason to grow our economy so New Zealanders can benefit, and get out and travel their country as well,” Louise Upston says.

Notes:

Other key figures from the Tourism Satellite Account release include:

• Domestic tourism expenditure decreased by $700 million (2.5 per cent) to $27.5 billion
• Total number of people employed in the tourism industry increased by 12.1 per cent to 303,400 people
• Tourism generated a direct contribution to GDP of $17.0 billion, or 4.4 per cent of GDP – an increase of 16.0 per cent compared to March 2023 year

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