Hon Paula Bennett

Associate Minister of Tourism

19 August 2016
International visitors spend record amount

New Zealand’s tourism sector continues to show impressive growth, with international visitors spending a record $10.3 billion in the June 2016 year, Associate Minister of Tourism Paula Bennett says.

The latest International Visitor Survey results from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) were released today and show visitor spending is up 18 per cent from last year.

“Australian visitors were the biggest spenders at almost $2.5 billion, an 8 per cent increase from last year. Chinese spending totalled almost $1.8 million, a 33 per cent increase, while visitors from the United States spent almost $1.1 billion,” Mrs Bennett says.

“There was a 92 per cent increase in spending from visitors from the Republic of Korea, who spent over $290 million. Japanese visitors spent over $280 million, a 57 per cent increase.

“The Government and tourism sector are focussed on attracting more high spending visitors and these results show this is paying off.

“It’s important all of New Zealand reaps the benefits of our thriving tourism industry, which is why the Government yesterday announced changes to the Tourism Growth Partnership to ensure half of the $8 million fund targets projects that boost tourism and tourism jobs in the regions. The next funding round will open in early September.

“The Government also committed $12 million over four years to the Regional Mid-sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund to help communities develop the infrastructure they need to cope with increasing international visitor numbers.

“Applications for this fund are now open, and I strongly encourage communities to apply for support so that New Zealand continues to provide a world class tourism experience for our international visitors,” Mrs Bennett says.

Results of the International Visitor Survey from MBIE are available here:http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/ivs/ivs-commentary

The data is also available on the Tourism Dashboard http://tourismdashboard.mbie.govt.nz/

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