Milford Sound, South Island New Zealand – Image: Tourism New Zealand
International visitors contributed $11.7 billion to New Zealand’s economy in the 12 months to September 2024. This marks a $2.8 billion increase, up 30% on the previous year, says Tourism New Zealand (TNZ).
“We’re also seeing robust growth year-on-year (y-o-y) in international visitor numbers,” says TNZ CEO René de Monchy. According to him, for the year to September 2024, total international visitor arrivals were up 17% y-o-y to 3.2 million, with holiday arrivals up 29% compared to last year.
Off-peak arrivals in the July-September period were up 2.7% on last year. The strong growth out of China (+29%) and Australia (+9%) helped offset a 32% decline from the USA following last year’s strong visitation during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Visitors from Germany tend to stay longer and spend more per trip than visitors from other countries, according to TNZ in a visitor snapshot on this specific, high value market.
The key market insights are:
- Between April 2023 – April 2024, 64,700 German travellers visited New Zealand, with 46,500 of them being holiday visitors
- The average length of stay for holiday visitor is 17 days
- 50% of visitors from Germany arrive during March – November, New Zealand’s off-peak seasons
- German visitors spent $463.3 million in New Zealand, with $385 million by holidaymakers.
- The average spend per trip was $8,102, rising to $9,061 for holiday visitors.
- 66% of visitors from Germany visited four or more regions
- Most visitors from Germany enjoyed natural attractions like mountains and lakes, beaches, hiking, and national parks.
“As we look ahead to 2025, airline capacity is up to 92% of pre-COVID levels,” continues de Monchy. “We have a well-primed audience of people across our key markets who are seriously considering a trip to New Zealand. This pool of people has increased by 42% to 160 million in the 12 months to September 2024, with 47% having New Zealand as their number one place to visit. This means we have a highly motivated group of people to convert into arrivals.” (NAN/TNZ 04-12-24)
