North America

In the geographically large markets of the United States and Canada, New Zealand is a relatively little-known holiday destination. However, of all our international visitors, those from the US are the most satisfied with their New Zealand holidays.

Visitors from the US rate New Zealand's environment and the activities we have on offer more highly than other markets, showing that New Zealand's offering as a destination fits well with Americans from our target market. In particular New Zealand has very strong appeal as a niche destination among North American travellers interested in the outdoors, adventure and culture.

Despite being our third-largest visitor market, New Zealand continues to attract only a tiny proportion of US outbound travellers and awareness remains low. In Canada, interest in New Zealand was strong following the launch of Air New Zealand's direct flights to Vancouver in 2007, but has dropped back in the aftermath of the global economic downturn.

Reversing the downward trend in each of these markets is a priority for Tourism New Zealand, who will be working closely with industry partners to maximise effectiveness of its North American budget over the coming year. Work underway in the US in conjunction with Air New Zealand is aimed at growing our market share and increasing visitor arrivals.

  • United States

    The US is New Zealand's third largest visitor market in terms of both visitor arrivals and expenditure, but lack of awareness is a major challenge.

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  • Canada

    Between 1999 and 2008 total visitor arrivals from Canada increased by 60 per cent.  Much of this growth has been due to direct air services launched for the first...

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  • Contact Us

    Tourism New Zealand's North American team is based in Los Angeles. The LA office manages trade, marketing and Tourism New Zealand's PR activity for both the US and Canada....

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