Our take on the latest Tourism data (Fri 12 Aug 2022)
Foreign tourist arrivals at 44% of pre-pandemic level
Strong rebound in Australian arrivals, at 67% of usual levels
Kiwi departures at 47% of normal
The key numbers...
- June saw an additional 21,900 inbound arrivals (an increase of 30%!) from May 2022. There were 94,600 arrivals in June 2022, compared to over 200,000 in June 2019.
- Short-term departures of Kiwis heading overseas totalled just over 140,400 in June, reaching 47% of pre-pandemic (June 2019) levels, up from 40% in May.
- Some selected markets are making a promising comeback. UK arrivals are at 45% of pre-pandemic levels, and Singaporean arrivals at 43%. Australian arrivals numbered almost 67,900 in June 2022, reaching two-thirds of their pre-pandemic levels, and up 45% from May.
- The number of Chinese tourists is sitting at just 5% of pre-pandemic levels. Total arrivals from China across May and June were about 1,800 this year compared to 300 in March and April.
Departures remain higher than arrivals
Monthly tourism passenger counts
...and our reaction
- Departures from New Zealand remain above inbound arrivals. Although the pandemic created a surge in domestic tourism, it appears Kiwis are keen to explore internationally with our borders now open, particularly given the opportunity to head somewhere warmer for a winter holiday.
- A swift pick-up of arrivals over the last couple of months points towards more positive numbers for the main part of the ski season in July and August. However, New Zealand’s highest arrival numbers tend to be over the summer, so November-March will provide the best indication of tourism’s recovery.
- Several large markets are still lagging. The number of French and German tourists in June was still below a third of pre-pandemic arrivals, and some Asian markets have been even slower to pick back up- Arrivals from India, Japan, and Taiwan are each less than 20% of June 2019 levels. It also remains to see how much Chinese tourism might recover, with the country still experiencing lockdowns and spikes in COVID-19 cases.
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