New Zealand Launches $13.5 Million Initiative to Draw in 23,000 Tourists
The campaign will target individuals from China, Australia, the United States, India, Germany, and South Korea, with concerns about its cost lingering.
New Zealand Tourism Minister Louise Upston has introduced an ambitious $13.5 million (US$8 million) initiative to attract more tourists from countries where New Zealand is already a favored vacation spot—China, Australia, the United States, India, Germany, and South Korea.
Australia stands as New Zealand’s largest visitor market, making up nearly half (44 percent) of all international visitor arrivals, followed by the United States and then China. Germany holds the fifth position, while India is in seventh place. South Korea is the only country within this group that does not rank in the top ten.
Upston, alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, disclosed that the investment aims to “turbocharge” global marketing to international visitors.
This move seeks to bolster New Zealand’s struggling services sector, which encompasses tourism, retail, and hospitality and contributes to about two-thirds of the economy. This sector has yet to fully recover from the prolonged lockdowns imposed during the pandemic.
The latest BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Services Index (PSI) slightly increased in March compared to the previous month, reaching 49.1, after experiencing contraction in February. A figure below 50 indicates a slowdown in activity.
“We understand that international marketing yields results, with approximately 14 percent of international holiday visitors being directly influenced by Tourism NZ’s marketing efforts,” Upston stated.
“We are seeing positive signs from our ‘Everyone Must Go!’ campaign targeting Australia, but we won’t stop there.
“The year 2025 presents us with an opportunity to emphasize the worth of tourism and showcase the vibrant offerings of our country. New Zealand’s tourism industry is open for business,” she proclaimed.
She forecasted that this initiative would result in an additional 23,000 international visitors by the end of March 2026, generating an extra $100 million.
However, questions have arisen regarding the cost per visitor and the anticipated return.
“$13.5 million for potentially attracting 23,000 visitors?” economist Cameron Bagries commented on X. “That equates to $587 per visitor. It’s almost covering the airfare for an Australian arrival.”
It is evident that retail and hospitality are among the hardest-hit sectors within the services industry, while tourism is gradually recovering.
For the period ending in March 2024, total revenue from tourism reached $44.4 billion—an increase of 14.6 percent from the previous year—where international tourism contributed $16.9 billion, showing a 59.9 percent surge.
The count of overseas visitor arrivals also rose by 44.8 percent to 3,183,376.
To achieve Upston’s projection of $100 million in additional expenditure, each of the 23,000 new tourists would need to spend an average of $4,348—significantly higher than the current spending level.
According to Statistics New Zealand, international tourists spent an average of just $2,681 per person last year.
Holiday visitors spent slightly more, at $3,027, while business travelers spent less, averaging $2,376 each.
