New Zealand Tourism – $21.7 billion industry in 2009

This is a reasonable result in light of the severe global recession and a very challenging time for tourism businesses. It demonstrates the resilience of tourism, and highlights the importance of domestic tourism in compensating for the downturn in international tourism.

Tourism plays an important role in the New Zealand economy. It directly and indirectly contributes 9.1% to total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 9.6% of employment (185,000 full-time equivalent jobs). Tourists contributed $1.6 billion in GST revenue to government.

Over the last ten years, tourism industry GDP grew by 73% (average of 5.8% per annum) similar to total New Zealand GDP growth.  Tourism has consistently been a positive contributor to the New Zealand economy, particularly in the early 2000s period.

International tourists spent $9,313 million in New Zealand, or 16.4% of total export earnings. It is now the second largest export earner, surpassed only by diary exports at $9,975 billion (17.6% of total export). This reversal of position was due to the diary exports having experienced a sharp increase in revenue over the last two years (up by 36% or $2,642 million) driven by a large increase in export commodity prices of diary products (up by 63%), despite lower export volumes.

Source: Tourism Leading Indicators Monitor, October 2009

The Tourism Leading Indicators Monitor reports can be downloaded at:  

http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/TLIM