Tourism Satellite Account
3 March 2026
StatsNZ
The Tourism Satellite Account, funded by MBIE and produced by StatsNZ, provides a picture of the role tourism plays in New Zealand, with information on the changing levels and impact of tourism activity. The latest report (year-ended March 2025) and table data can be found on the Stats NZ's website.
Key provisional estimates for the year ended March 2025
| Year-ended March | Expenditure (millions) | Employment in tourism | Contribution to GDP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | International | Total | Direct | Indirect | Total | Direct | Indirect | Total | |
| 2019 | $23,702 | $17,164 | $40,866 | 220,680 | 150,360 | 371,040 | 5.6% | 3.9% | 9.6% |
| 2020 | $23,824 | $17,687 | $41,512 | 220,809 | 148,329 | 369,138 | 5.4% | 3.7% | 9.2% |
| 2021 | $24,980 | $1,485 | $26,465 | 145,152 | 94,950 | 240,102 | 3.3% | 2.2% | 5.6% |
| 2022 | $25,240 | $1,943 | $27,183 | 128,586 | 85,194 | 213,780 | 3.1% | 2.1% | 5.2% |
| 2023 | $27,975 | $10,601 | $38,576 | 160,023 | 108,891 | 268,914 | 4.1% | 2.8% | 6.9% |
| 2024 (final) | $28,180 | $16,953 | $45,133 | 189,426 | 129,588 | 319,014 | 4.5% | 3.2% | 7.7% |
| 2025 (provisional) | $28,473 | $18,147 | $46,621 | 194,631 | 133,257 | 327,888 | 4.6% | 3.2% | 7.7% |
| 2025 % change on 2019 | 20.1% | 5.7% | 14.1% | -11.8% | -11.4% | -11.6% | -17.9% | -17.9% | -19.8% |
| 2025 % change on 2024 | 1.0% | 7.0% | 3.3% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
For the year ended March 2025 (expressed in nominal terms):
- total tourism expenditure was $46.6 billion, up 3.3 per cent ($1.5 billion) from 2024
- international tourism expenditure was $18.1 billion, up 7.0 per cent ($1.2 billion) from 2024
- as a per centage of total exports, international tourism expenditure was 17 per cent, down 0.2 per centage points from 2024
- international student expenditure (studying less than 12 months) was $4.0 billion, up 4.8 per cent ($184 million)
- domestic tourism expenditure was $28.5 billion, up 1.0 per cent ($293 million)
- household tourism expenditure increased 0.1 per cent ($31 million) to $21.2 billion
- business and government tourism expenditure increased 3.7 per cent ($262 million) to $7.3 billion
- total tourism value added as a proportion of GDP was 7.7 per cent, the same as in 2024
- overseas visitor arrivals increased 4.3 per cent to 3,320,687 people
- 38.8 million guest nights were spent in short‑term commercial accommodation, a 2.7 per cent decrease compared with the previous year
- the number of people visiting for education purposes (studying less than 12 months) was 50,889, up 0.8 per cent (420 students)
- total tourism employment increased 2.8 per cent (8,874 people) to 327,888 people
- the number of people directly employed in tourism was 194,631, up 2.7 per cent (5,205 people)
- direct tourism employment as a share of total employment in New Zealand was 6.8 per cent