United Kingdom

Market Overview

New Zealand has long been a favourite holiday destination for British travellers. More than 180,000 visit annually, making the UK market third only to Australia and China for visitor numbers.

However, travel to New Zealand and other long haul destinations was hit hard by the economic downturn, and the market has continued to decline.

The maturity of the UK market means New Zealand is unlikely to see the growth in visitor arrivals that was seen prior to the global financial crisis. Tourism New Zealand's focus is on converting those potential visitors who are seriously considering New Zealand as a holiday destination and growing the value of these visitors.

Hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2011 provided New Zealand with the opportunity to showcase the country's attractions to millions of people in our key target markets. The tournament also proved to be a strong attraction for visitors from the United Kingdom and Ireland, with more than 22,000 travelling to New Zealand to follow their teams, and enjoy events and tourism experiences between matches.

Half of British visitors to New Zealand have already been here at least once before, and three-quarters of British travellers visit regions beyond the main tourist centres.  British travelers are amongst the longest stayers in New Zealand, staying on average 29.2 days.  The majority of these travelers are visiting for holiday (45%) or are visiting friends or relatives in New Zealand (46%).

The Internet is a key tool for British travellers researching, planning and booking their holidays. Travel agents are used extensively to book flights and other holiday aspects. Many of the travel bookings made online are through travel agents' websites. Around 80 per cent of British travellers to New Zealand are either free independent travellers (FIT) or semi-independent, making a significant proportion of their bookings as they travel the country.

Key Statistics

International Visitor Arrivals March 2013

Year End Total 189,472 14.7%
Year End (Holiday) 73,120 22.9%
Month End Total 23,232 15.8%
Month End (Holiday) 9,632 24.1%
Total Stay Days* 5,626,208
Total Stay Days (Holiday)* 2,037,776
Average Length of Stay* 29.7 days
Average Length of Stay (Holiday)* 27.9 days

International Visitor Survey - YE December 2012

Average Expenditure per Visit NZD2,700
Total Expenditure per Annum NZD469m

Market Trends

The UK was slower than all other major economies to emerge from recession and, while there are signs of improvement, recovery is expected to be slow, with experts predicting...

Read More

Want to know more?

Published monthly, the International Visitor Arrivals (IVA) survey measures international visitor arrivals into New Zealand by month and by year. For more information on IVA visit Statistics New Zealand.

Published quarterly, the International Visitor Survey (IVS) is carried out by the Tourism Strategy Group. Research is based on around 5,200 interviews conducted with international visitors as they depart from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch airports. For more information on IVS visit the Economic Development Group's website.

For more information including tourism research and data, policy, and publications please see the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

IMP highlights

Check out some of the media files that TNZ is supporting.

Read More