The latest International Visitor Survey (IVS) data covers October to December 2025, and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) data covers the year ending March 2025. Together, they show both recent visitor activity and the wider economic impact of tourism.

"These updates are a good reminder of just how critical an expanding tourism sector is for Aotearoa," Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand René de Monchy said. "The IVS gives us insights into how the increasing numbers of international visitors have been engaging with New Zealand in recent months, while the TSA officially highlights the enormous value tourism delivers across jobs, businesses, and communities.

"It's excellent to see the growth of the sector continue as we aim to get international visitor volumes back to 2019 levels by the end of 2026, and to double the value of international tourism spend by the end of 2033.

“It’s important to remember that New Zealand’s destination brand extends beyond tourism too, as it provides a halo effect that supports broader export sectors.”

Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) – Year Ended March 2025
Data from the annual Tourism Satellite Account provides a detailed picture of tourism’s economic contribution for the year ended March 2025. It is the most comprehensive measure of tourism’s role in the New Zealand economy.

It confirms the tourism sector remains New Zealand’s second largest export earner, generating a direct contribution to GDP of $18B, a share of 4.6 percent. This is an increase of $0.6B or 3.4 percent from the previous year.

Positively, total domestic and international tourism is the highest it has ever been, at $46.6B. International tourism expenditure increased by $1.2B (7 percent) to $18.1B. This represents a recovery of 106% compared to 2019 levels.

New Zealand’s tourism sector also continues to offer critical employment opportunities, with 1 in 9 people (327,888 people) being directly or indirectly employed in tourism.

International Visitor Survey (IVS)
Data released today under the International Visitor Survey completes the 2025 calendar year picture of annual visitor spend, spend by market, purpose of visit, and regional travel patterns.

In 2025, international visitor spend increased by 3% year-on-year to a total of $12.5B, and visitor arrivals grew by 6% to 3.51M. In the years since borders opened to international visitors, annual spend has been steadily increasing. Australian visitors have the highest total spend at $3.8B, followed by visitors from USA ($1.9B) and China ($1.1B).

However, on a per-visitor basis, Germans spend the most per trip with an average of $8,664 and Australians the lowest, at $2,867. This reflects the nature of longer stays generally correlating with higher spend. German visitors have the longest average length of stay.

Overall, total spend recovery to 2019 is 109%, and total holiday spend to 2019 is 117%.

The vast majority of visitors are satisfied with their travel to New Zealand, and top activities enjoyed by travellers include walking, hiking, tramping, and visiting other natural attractions.

More information

Tourism Satellite Account
TNZ website: Tourism impact(opens in new window)
Stats NZ website: Tourism satellite account: YE March 2025(opens in new window)

International Visitor Survey
TNZ website: Tourism data(opens in new window)
MBIE website: IVS 2025 Q4 release(opens in new window)