MBIE: International visitors spending up five per cent in 2017
Spending by international visitors in New Zealand was a record $10.6 billion for the year to December 2017, according to the latest International Visitor Survey released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
An increase in visitors from the United States has resulted in an 18 per cent jump in spending from this market over the year to $1.3 billion. Over the last year there has been growing competition in the New Zealand to US air routes, with increased capacity for the summer season.
Australian visitors remain the largest international market for spending in New Zealand, spending $2.6 billion over the year to December 2017. The next largest market was Chinese visitors who spent $1.5 billion.
While international visitor numbers arrivals continue to climb (up seven per cent over the year to December 2017), average spend per visitor has been steady.