This release includes total results from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) for the year ending March 2025 and separately for the March 2025 quarter

Top-line results can be found on MBIE’s Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre (TEIC).

Microdata is also published on MBIE’s website.

Notes on interpreting results

All spend figures and percentage changes are in nominal terms (not adjusted for inflation) unless stated otherwise. Stats NZ Consumer Price Index was used to adjust spend figures for inflation (real terms), to account for how much of the extra spending by tourists is being driven by higher prices.

Please note when comparing figures with 2019, we adjusted the 2019 figures for inflation to account for how much of the extra spending by visitors was being driven by higher prices. Prices increased by 26.6% from March 2019 to March 2025, while the annual price increase was only 2.5% from the year ending March 2024. This is low enough that inflation adjustment isn’t necessary for annual changes.

We advise caution when using and interpreting quarterly results, as quarterly level statistics have a higher margin of error than annual level statistics due to the smaller sample size resulting from a shorter survey period.

For the year ending March 2025, the market breakdown includes Total, Australia, UK, USA, Rest of Europe, Asia, Germany, Canada, Rest of World, and China.

Please note that Asia excludes China, which is now reported separately due to a larger sample size compared to the same period last year. Asia is now composed of Japan, Korea, and Rest of Asia. As China was reported as part of the ‘Asia’ grouping in the previous year’s release (year ending March 2024 and March 2024 quarter),no direct comparison is made for Asia and China.

Further details on data quality, including sample sizes, response rates and margin of errors, are available here.

Key highlights for year ending March 2025

Results cover 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Annual spend increased 9.2% and visitor arrivals increased 4.3%

• International visitors contributed $12.2 billion to New Zealand’s economy – For the year ending March 2025, international tourism generated a total of $12.2 billion, up 9.2% from 2024.
• International tourism remained the second highest export earner – behind dairy ($21.8 billion) and ahead of meat and edible offal ($9.2 billion).
• International visitor numbers were up 4.3% - For the year ending March 2025, 3.32 million visitors came to New Zealand, up from 3.18 million in 2024.
• Visitors from Australia had the highest total spend – Visitors from Australia spent $3.5 billion (up 1%), followed by visitors from Asia at $1.9 billion, and the USA at $1.8 billion (up 15%).
• Visitors from Germany had the highest median spend – Visitors from Germany were the top spenders, with median spend per visitor increasing by 5% to $6,617 from 2024. Australians spent the least per visitor at $1,986, up 1% from 2024. A higher median spend per visitor generally correlates with the length of visit the longer the visit, the greater the overall spend per visitor.
• Visitors from the USA had the highest daily spend - Visitors from the USA spent the most per day ($372, up 9% from 2024), followed by visitors from China ($368) and both Asia and Australia (up 7% from 2024) had $300 per day. The UK had the lowest median daily spend at $204, although this increased 15% from 2024.
• Overall median spend per visitor and daily spend incresed - The median spend per visitor for all countries was $2,831, an increase of 11% from 2024. The median daily spend for all countries was $293, an increase of 6% from 2024.
• Length of stay is similar to 2024 – The median length of stay for all visitors was 10 days, similar with 2024. Visitors from Germany stayed the longest, with a median length of stay of 28 days, followed by other European visitors at 21 days.
• Visitor spending on accommodation increased - Total visitor spend on accommodation was $3.1 billion, an increase of 10% from $2.9 billion for the year ending March 2024. Visitors from Australia collectively spent the most on accommodation at $1.1 billion, while visitors from Canada spent the least at $76 million.
  
  

Annual spend continues to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, in line with international visitor numbers

• When adjusted for inflation, visitor spend for the year ending March 2025 was at 86% of 2019 levels, or $9.7 billion. This reflected visitor numbers which is at 86% of pre-pandemic levels, 3.32 million for the year ending March 2025 when compared with 3.87 million for the year ending March 2019
• When adjusted for inflation, the median spend per visitor for all countries was at $2,253, or 101% of 2019 levels (due to one more day of stay than 2019), and median daily spend was at $233 or 92% of 2019 levels
  
  
  

Key highlights for March 2025 quarter

Results cover 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025.

Visitor spend slightly increased from March 2024 quarter

• International visitors brought $4.5 billion into New Zealand – International visitor spend was $4.5 billion during the March 2025 quarter, a 0.3% nominal increase from the same quarter in 2024. Australian visitors remain the single largest market, spending $1.1 billion during the quarter — a 3% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
• International tourism remained the second highest export – behind Dairy ($7.0 billion) and ahead of Meat and Edible Offal ($2.9 billion) for the March 2025 quarter.
• Median spend per visitor increased – Median spend per visitor increased 6% from the March 2024 quarter, reaching $3,015 in the March 2025 quarter.
• Length of stay is similar to last year - The median length of stay for all visitors was 11 days, broadly consistent with the same quarter in 2024
• Spend by visitors on holiday increased – Spend by visitors on holiday increased by 7%, rising from $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion.
• Net promoter score increased by 4 points to 72 – The net promoter score (NPS) measures the net effect of visitors’ likelihood to recommend New Zealand as a holiday destination to others. A score of 72 means that visitors had a positive experience in New Zealand and are more likely to recommend it as a holiday destination.
  
  

Future data releases

The next data release will include results from the June 2025 quarter and will be released on 2nd September 2025. The tourism data release calendar on the MBIE website has release dates to september 2025.

August 2025

• 8 August – Tourism Electronic Card Transactions: June 2025
• 15 August(S) – International travel: June 2025
• 27 August – Accommodation Data Programme: July 2025

September 2025

• 2 September – International Visitor Survey: June 2025 quarter
• 10 September(S) – International travel: July 2025
• 24 September – Accommodation Data Programme: August 2025