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Tourism in New Zealand

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Milford Sound, one of New Zealand's most popular tourist destinations.[1]
Hills above the Whanganui River
Bungee jumping has become a popular activity in the resort town of Queenstown.
Sea-kayaking from Hahei

Tourism in New Zealand comprised an important sector of the national economy – tourism directly contributed NZ$16.2 billion (or 5.8%) of the country's GDP in the year ended March 2019.[2] As of 2016 tourism supported 188,000 full-time-equivalent jobs (nearly 7.5% of New Zealand's workforce). The flow-on effects of tourism indirectly contributed a further 4.3% of GDP (or NZ$9.8 billion). Despite the country's geographical isolation, spending by international tourists accounted for 17.1% of New Zealand's export earnings (nearly NZ$12 billion). International and domestic tourism contributed, in total, NZ$34 billion to New Zealand's economy every year as of 2017.[3]

New Zealand markets itself abroad as a "clean, green" adventure-playground (Tourism New Zealand's main marketing slogan, "100% Pure New Zealand", reflects this), emphasising as typical tourist destinations nature areas such as Milford Sound, Abel Tasman National Park and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing; while activities such as bungee jumping or whale watching exemplify typical tourist attractions, marketed primarily to individual and small-group travellers. Australia provides by far the largest group of New Zealand's international tourists (about 45%), due to its close proximity (three to four hours by plane) and traditional good relations. Mainland China, the United States and the United Kingdom are the next three largest markets.

The Sky Tower, a popular attraction in Auckland, serves as an observation tower as well as featuring a revolving restaurant.[4]

The vast majority of international tourist arrivals to New Zealand come through Auckland Airport, which handled 11.5 million international passengers in 2019.[5] Two per cent of visitors arrived by sea as of 2009.[6] Many international tourists spend time in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Rotorua, and Wellington.[7] Other high-profile destinations include the Bay of Islands, the Waitomo Caves, Aoraki / Mount Cook, and Milford Sound. Many tourists travel considerable distances through the country during their stays, typically using coach lines or hired cars. Though some destinations have seasonal specialities (for winter sports, for example), New Zealand's southern-hemisphere location offers attractions for off-peak northern-hemisphere tourists chasing or avoiding certain seasons. In June 2018 the New Zealand government announced the imposition of a "tourist tax" of around NZ$25 to NZ$35 for international visitors, excluding Australians, many Pacific islanders, and young children. It planned to implement this taxation in 2019 through a newly proposed electronic travel-registration process.[8][9]

International travel

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Air New Zealand plane with The Lord of the Rings livery. The film series, shot in New Zealand, may have contributed to the increase in annual tourism numbers in the early 21st century.[10]

Overview

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Camper vans offer one of the choices for budget travel in New Zealand

The country is internationally seen as a top holiday destination, as shown by being voted most favourite destination by the readers of the Condé Nast Traveler magazine (specialising in luxury travel) in 2008, though it slipped to second place in 2009.[11] A 2007 Daily Telegraph poll, the United Kingdom's largest such poll, also identified New Zealand as the best overseas holiday destination. Between 2000 (the start of an advertising campaign by Tourism New Zealand) and 2007 the number of Britons visiting New Zealand increased by 61%.[12] In November 2012 readers of the UK newspaper The Telegraph voted New Zealand the best country in the world to go to on holiday.[13]

The availability of air travel is a large contributing factor to market growth. After Air New Zealand launched non-stop flights from Auckland to Buenos Aires in December 2015, visitor numbers from Argentina tripled, from 5,400 in 2015 to 15,300 in 2016.[14]

Tourism New Zealand, the country's official tourism agency, actively promotes the country as a destination worldwide. Activities have included a NZ$7 million campaign in China, concentrating on Shanghai,[15] and co-operating to produce a New Zealand tourism layer for Google Earth, the first such country-wide initiative.[16]

Visitors from 60 countries require a New Zealand eTA (NZ eTA) from 1 October 2019.[17][18]

From March 2020, New Zealand government implemented strict quarantine provisions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic across the nationwide, and the numbers of incoming international visitors dropped dramatically. The tourism sector responded with a strategy of hunker and hope.[19] A brief reopening of borders with Australia ("Travel bubble") from April 2021 encountered official "pauses" and "suspension" (July 2021) as COVID-19 Deltacron hybrid variant took hold in different Australian states.[20] In September 2024, New Zealand announced to increase its International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy from NZ$35 to NZ$100 starting on 1 October 2024, to boost economic growth and ensure tourists contribute to public services. While the government believed this wouldn't significantly deter visitors, Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) warned that the higher fee might discourage tourism, especially as the country struggled to recover to pre-pandemic visitor numbers. The tax hike was not applied to tourists from Australia and the Pacific, and additional visa fees would also rise.[21]

Environmental impacts

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Public concern over the environmental impacts of air travel may threaten tourism growth in New Zealand, as almost all tourists fly long distances to reach New Zealand. However, Ministry of Tourism data in 2007 predicted a four per cent annual growth in tourist numbers in New Zealand, with 3.2 million tourists annually to be reached in 2014.[22] However, it remains unclear how New Zealand's carbon-neutral policy will affect future tourism – with some researchers arguing that the carbon emissions of tourism are much higher than generally considered, that their offsetting or mitigation will be very difficult, and that this poses a serious threat to the country's major source of foreign income.[23]

Domestic travel

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The road to Mount Cook

Periodic campaigns are also directed at New Zealanders, urging them to travel within New Zealand instead of overseas, due to a perception by the tourism industry that too many New Zealanders are travelling to Australia or other countries instead of domestically.[24] Perhaps the best-known slogan is "Don't leave town until you've seen the country".[25]

Air travel is a popular way of getting around the country due to the lack of transport alternatives over longer distances (for example, going from Auckland to Napier, a 400 km journey takes an hour by plane[26] compared to nearly five hours by car[27] or seven hours by bus.[28]

Passenger trains are limited to Auckland-Wellington, Picton-Christchurch and Christchurch-Greymouth, scenic daytrip journeys which often cost more than an airfare. Outside of trunk routes connecting main cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown), airfares can, due to a lack of competition, cost nearly as much as trips to Australia.[29]

Domestic tourism contributed NZ$14 billion to New Zealand's economy (as of the year ended March 2013). 31 million day trips and 16.6 million overnight trips were made in the year ended December 2012, a decline of 4% and 6% respectively. However, total spending stayed static, with a 2% decline in day trip spending (now at $3.7 billion) offset by a 1% increase in overnight spending (currently NZ$6.2 billion).[citation needed]

Domestic tourism spending still exceeds that of international tourism; in the year to March 2020, domestic tourists spent $24.4 billion compared to $17.5 billion spent by international tourists.[30] However, the economy suffered from COVID-19 pandemic, when the borders were closed to the international tourists and other visitors from 2020 to 2022, and the tourism sector is expected to take years to recover.[31]

Tourist activities

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See also: Tramping in New Zealand and Camping in New Zealand
Queenstown is known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism.

Popular tourist activities in New Zealand include sightseeing, adventure tourism, tramping (hiking) and camping. To support active travel, New Zealand has numerous walking and hiking paths (often created and maintained by the DOC), some of which, like the Milford Track, have huge international recognition. There is also a walking route the length of the country (Te Araroa) and the New Zealand Cycle Trail.

Statistics

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International markets

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The top countries for international visitor arrivals to New Zealand in terms of their nationality are as follows.[32]

Country 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
 Australia 1,537,988 359,781 160,248 829,168 1,257,933
 United States of America 367,958 124,818 5,153 110,275 337,306
 United Kingdom 231,712 94,255 6,034 87,959 167,002
 China, People's Republic of 407,141 58,508 1,644 16,997 151,297
 India 66,775 18,179 1,622 20,282 84,399
 Germany 98,050 36,671 750 23,376 59,872
 Korea, Republic of 88,481 26,326 476 14,201 58,237
 Canada 73,037 30,791 1,030 24,217 57,963
 Japan 97,682 25,784 561 12,732 51,976
 Singapore 64,574 9,373 1,249 33,919 47,388
 Fiji 33,630 7,710 658 16,601 39,980
 Taiwan 53,453 13,260 242 5,429 33,359
 Philippines 27,505 5,398 1,264 8,334 31,162
 Malaysia 41,779 5,491 298 11,684 28,861
 Hong Kong SAR 53,720 13,125 817 9,365 25,832
Other countries 644,988 166,900 24,816 209,293 524,376
Total 3,888,473 996,350 206,862 1,433,832 2,956,940

Australia accounted for 42.5 per cent of New Zealand visitor arrivals in 2023. Broken down by state, New South Wales accounted for 396,789 visitors, followed by Queensland with 318,803 visitors, and Victoria with 282,303 visitors.[32]

Of the top 14 nationalities, all except India, China, and Fiji are entitled to visa waivers,[33] while all except the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and the Philippines have non-stop flights to New Zealand.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NZ tops Travellers' Choice Awards". Stuff Travel. May 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  2. ^ "About the tourism industry". www.tourismnewzealand.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. ^ "About the industry". November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  4. ^ Sky Tower Official page - Retrieved 2009-07-04
  5. ^ "Delivering for the future – Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Aucklandairport.co.nz. Auckland Airport. 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  6. ^ "International visitors: total" (PDF). Ministry of Tourism. June 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Number of International Visitors who Stayed Overnight in Key NZ Places". Ministry of Economic Development. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  8. ^ "New Zealand to launch £18 'tourist tax' for visitors entering the country". The Independent. Retrieved 26 June 2018. Applying to the majority of travellers, the tax would exclude infants under two years' old, Australian citizens, permanent residents, people from the Pacific Islands Forum countries and individuals on certain visas.
  9. ^ "New Zealand to tax tourists to visit – but Australians will get in free". the Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018. [...] Australian citizens and permanent residents, people from Pacific Islands Forum countries and children under two will be exempt.
  10. ^ Pinchefsky, Carol (14 December 2012). "The Impact (Economic and Otherwise) of Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit on New Zealand". Forbes. Retrieved 8 January 2018. Lord of the Rings may have contributed to the economy of New Zealand…but then again, as Anderson said, 'I'm sure Lord of the Rings played a huge part in that, but it wasn't the only factor. [...]'
  11. ^ Harvey, Eveline (4 September 2009). "Travellers name NZ second-best destination". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  12. ^ "UK readers vote NZ best holiday destination". The New Zealand Herald. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  13. ^ "NZ tops UK holiday poll". 3 News. 16 November 2012.
  14. ^ "Argentina". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  15. ^ Hembry, Owen (10 May 2007). "$7m more to sell NZ to China". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  16. ^ Hembry, Owen (12 April 2007). "NZ's 100% Pure and Google Earth in world first". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  17. ^ "Information about : NZeTA | Immigration New Zealand". www.immigration.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  18. ^ "eTA New Zealand | Official New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZ eTA)". eTA New Zealand. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  19. ^ Tourism Industry Aotearoa (5 May 2020). "Alarming Impact Of COVID-19 On Tourism Industry Revealed". Business. Scoop. Retrieved 28 July 2021. Tourism Industry Aotearoa [...] conducted [a] survey of its 1600 members to provide a comprehensive assessment of how tourism businesses are navigating the crisis. [...] 78% of respondents are taking major steps to adapt their businesses to the changed operating environment, including one third of businesses (33%) indicating they are going into hibernation for the foreseeable future. 40% are sharply reducing business size and capacity, and 21% are scrambling for capital in order to survive.
  20. ^ Frost, Natasha (23 July 2021). "The bubble bursts: New Zealand suspends quarantine-free travel from Australia". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2021. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered a pause on quarantine-free travel from Australia for at least 8 weeks, citing COVID-19 infection surges that have left more than half of Australia under lockdown.
  21. ^ Crew, Jemma (3 September 2024). "New Zealand hikes tourist tax prompting warning". BBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  22. ^ Hembry, Owen (3 September 2007). "NZ tourism strikes long-haul snag". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  23. ^ "Carbon policy spells end of tourism bonanza". National Business Review. 4 January 2008. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  24. ^ South, Gill (16 September 2007). "Stay in NZ, urges tourism industry". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  25. ^ "NZ Tourism – Don't Leave Town Till You've Seen the Country". ngataonga.org.nz. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Air New Zealand Timetable". Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  27. ^ "Google Maps".
  28. ^ "InterCity® // Bus Tickets From $1 // NZ's National Network".
  29. ^ "Sky high fares". The New Zealand Herald.
  30. ^ "Tourism satellite account: Year ended March 2020 | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  31. ^ "New Zealand Tourism to Take Years to Recover From Covid Shutdown". Bloomberg.com. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  32. ^ a b "International travel: December 2022 | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  33. ^ "Visa waiver countries and territories". Immigration New Zealand. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for New Zealand.
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