International visitor arrivals in November 62% of pre-Covid levels, Stats NZ figures show

Tourism hotspots such as Queenstown are attracting more visitors. Photo / Getty

International visitor arrivals topped 231,000 in November, up from just 5000 a year earlier but the surge in the number of Kiwis travelling overseas is stronger.

Arrivals in November 2022 were 62 per cent of the pre-Covid number of 372,000 in 2019. But the total for the 12 months to November is still less than a third of that before the pandemic. In the 12 months to November 2019 there were 3.89 million arrivals, compared to 1.07 million in the latest year.

Spending figures show tourists are spending more per person.

Traditional markets in what was New Zealand’s biggest foreign exchange earner are recovering, with Australia coming back fastest and making up the bulk of arrivals.

Of the 231,300 visitor arrivals in November last year:

• 47 per cent were from Australia (compared with 36 per cent in November 2019).
• 11 per cent were from the United States (11 per cent).
• 7 per cent were from the United Kingdom (6 per cent).
• 4 per cent were from Singapore (2 per cent).

International arrivals were up 69,700 from October, 2022 when there were 161,600 visitors.

The surge in Kiwis travelling again overseas continues, reflected in the New Zealand resident traveller arrival figures which are ahead of the rate of inbound tourism growth.

The November 2022 number of New Zealand returning from overseas holidays is 75 per cent of the pre-Covid number of 233,700 in for the same month in 2019.

There were 175,500 Kiwi arrivals in November 2022, up 172,100 from the same month last year.

The biggest changes were in arrivals from:

• Australia (up 82,200).
• Fiji (up 13,200).
• United States (up 10,000).
• India (up 8,300).
• Cook Islands (up 7,400).

What tourists are spending

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment figures show spending and accommodation sales for both domestic and international markets have moved closer to pre-Covid levels in November last year.

“These measures signal a promising summer season for the tourism sector.”

Monthly domestic tourism electronic card transactions of $931 million in November 2022 were up 18 per cent compared with November 2019. Tasman (up 34 per cent) had the highest increase, followed by Otago (up 30 per cent ) and Southland (up 29 per cent).

Monthly international tourism spend in November 2022 was down 3 per cent compared with November 2019. International spend in six out of eight North Island regions increased (by at least 5 per cent) when compared to pre-Covid November 2019 levels.

Monthly spend from Australian cardholders was down 8 per cent on pre-Covid November 2019 levels. Note, TECT spend figures have not been adjusted for inflation.

However, annual spending by international visitors of $1.6 billion is half that in the year to November 2019.

The MBIE figures show nationwide, core tourism accommodation providers hosted 3.1 million guest nights in November 2022. This figure is down 13 per cent of total guest nights in November 2018 (3.5 million). In the year ended November 2022, these accommodation providers hosted a total of 29 million guest nights.

Monthly domestic guest nights increased by 349,000 (up 19 per cent ) and international guest nights declined by 795,000 (down 46 per cent) when compared with November 2018. Christchurch (up 53,300) and Auckland (up 52,200) experienced the greatest increases in domestic guest nights compared with November 2018).

Nationwide, estimated unique domestic visitors totalled 1.5 million in November 2022, were down 26 per cent on November 2019 levels. Gisborne and Taranaki were estimated to have the smallest declines in domestic visitor volumes, down close to 20 per cent on November 2019.