Tourism is one of New Zealand's largest export industries,
second only to the dairy industry in terms of foreign exchange
earnings. It employs one in 10 New Zealanders and has the potential
to improve the economies of communities around the country.
The facts
In the year ended March 2011, international tourism expenditure
in New Zealand was NZD9.7 billion. Combined with domestic
expenditure of NZD13.2 billion, this makes the tourism industry
worth NZD23 billion a year to New Zealand's economy. This is an
increase of 2.1 per cent from the previous year.
Tourism generated a direct contribution to GDP of $6.9 billion,
or 3.8 percent of GDP. The indirect value added of industries
supporting tourism generated an additional $8.8 billion to
tourism.
The industry supports 91,900 direct and some 87,900 indirect
full-time equivalent jobs, or 9.3 per cent of the total workforce
in New Zealand.
For the year ending December 2011, New Zealand welcomed more
than 2.6 million visitors, an increase of three per cent on
the previous year. On average, each international holiday visitor
spends NZD2,783 on their New Zealand visit (year-end September
2011).
International tourism expenditure (excluding airfares) is
forecast to grow by an average of 2.7 per cent per annum to reach
NZD6.59 billion in 2016.
Visitor arrivals
In the year-ending December 2011, New Zealand's primary sources
for visitor arrivals were Australia (1,156,426 arrivals); the UK
(230,316 arrivals); the US (184,714 arrivals); China (145,524
arrivals), Japan (68,963 arrivals), Germany (63,719 arrivals),
South Korea (52,787 arrivals) and Canada (49,154 arrivals).
Significant secondary markets included France, Singapore,
Malaysia, South Africa and the Netherlands - some of this a
reflection of visitors arrivals for the Rugby World Cup 2011.
Visitors from our international visitor markets each have their
own characteristics and expectations of a New Zealand holiday
experience including length of stay and style of travel, preferred
modes of transport and accommodation types, and their likelihood of
travelling beyond the main centres.
The tourism industry world wide
International tourism recovered strongly in 2010 following the
global economic crisis.
International tourist arrivals reached 935 million, up by almost
7 per cent on 2009.
In 2010, international tourism spending reached USD 919 billion
worldwide (693 billion euros), up from USD 851 billion (610 billion
euros) in 2009.
Want to know more?
Visit the Ministry of Economic Development's Tourism Strategy
Group website to view Tourism Industry Key Statistics.
Access data from New Zealand's official tourism research
programme, including visitor arrivals data and forecasts, at www.tourismresearch.govt.nz.
Find out more about our international markets, including latest
statistics and data, in the Markets and Stats section of this
website.
Find out more about the global tourism industry at www.unwto.org.