Our take on the latest Tourism data (Fri 9 Aug 2019)
Tourist arrivals up 0.8% from June 2018
Departure of NZ tourists up 4.5% from June 2018
Chinese arrivals down 3.0% from June 2018
The key numbers...
- A slowing global economy is changing the nationality of tourists arriving in New Zealand.
- North American and Australasian tourist numbers have increased, but fewer tourist arrivals from European and Asian countries is reflective of which parts of the world are slowing the most.
- Continued growth in departure numbers of New Zealand tourists shows how New Zealand has held up well, so far, in the face of a slowing global economy.
Tourist arrivals by country
Year-ended annual percentage change
...and our reaction
- June was a quiet month for tourism in New Zealand – aggregate arrivals edged down 0.2% from last month (seasonally adjusted) and were up 0.8% from June 2018.
- New Zealand was popular with North Americans in June, with arrivals from the US and Canada up 10% and 26% respectively from June 2018.
- Chinese tourism continues to decline, with annual arrival numbers down 6.2% from the previous 12 months, the biggest drop in nine years.
- Arrivals by airport varies with tourist arrivals growing the fastest in Queenstown and Dunedin, up 15%pa and 48%pa respectively.
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