"But it also presents us with challenges - in particular, how we are going to service all our visitors and ensure they enjoy an outstanding visitor experience," Mr Roberts said.
The projections suggest that the workforce directly employed in tourism needs to expand by around 3600 FTE workers a year for the next decade. In addition, there will need to be significant job growth in sectors that indirectly support tourism.
"Some regions will require more workers than others. Regions like Auckland and Otago attract a large proportion of international visitors, driving localised labour demands higher. We are forecasting that tourism labour market needs in Auckland could lift by 54 per cent by 2025 and by 46 per cent in Otago," he said.
"And as our visitor mix continues to evolve, shifting towards increasing numbers of visitors from the Asian region and China in particular, we expect increased demands for language skills. At the least, most employees will need a solid understanding of the cultures of these new visitors to New Zealand in order to deliver a premium visitor experience."
Not only does the labour market need to adjust to the volume increase in visitors, expected growth in high value visitors will bring demand for employees with the skills to deliver premium visitor experiences, the research finds.
It also explores which occupations are likely to experience the greatest demand, finding that many more accommodation managers and hospitality workers will be required. Some skilled niche occupations like adventure guides will also need to grow.
"So we have a big challenge ahead, especially as we know that employers in some regions, in particular Queenstown, are already struggling to find enough staff," Mr Roberts said.
"TIA is working with the tourism industry to develop a People & Skills Strategy which looks at how to attract more people to work in the tourism industry in the short, medium and long term. This work is progressing well and we expect to launch it publicly later this year."