A tourism turbocharge has been announced by Minister Louise Upston, ready to take New Zealand to the World.
A major drive boosting New Zealand as an international travel destination will kick off with a NZD 13.5 million turbocharge for global marketing activity, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston has announced.
“We’re a Government relentlessly focused on growing the economy so Kiwis can get ahead. All the stats show tourism will play a leading role as that growth continues,” Minister Upston said.
The Minister added that she was delighted to be making the turbocharge announcement, and hoped it would encourage more international visitors across multiple markets.
“Encouraging more visitors means more people staying in our hotels, eating in our cafés, spending in our shops and visiting our attractions, creating jobs and driving economic growth.”
The initial investment will include a focus on encouraging visitors from China, Australia, the United States, India, Germany and South Korea. Upston said that in these countries and beyond, there are millions of people actively considering coming and experiencing all New Zealand has to offer.
The Minister reiterated that international marketing works, with around 14 percent of international holiday visitors already being directly influenced by Tourism NZ’s marketing activity.
“We want to grow that influence. Our international visitor spending and visitor numbers have been rebuilding strongly, and we must make the most of that momentum,” she said.
“The $13.5 million announced is estimated to result in more than 23,000 additional international visitors and spending an extra $100 million across the country.”
Upston added that it will be a major boost, not just for tourism and hospitality providers, but in regions and communities throughout the country. She said there have been encouraging signs coming through from the ‘Everyone Must Go!’
campaign focused on Australia, but it won’t stop there.
“2025 is our chance to reinforce the value of tourism and show what our humming, vibrant country has on show. New Zealand tourism is open for business. We already know our country has so much going for it. Now we need the global marketing to push that story even wider.”
Specific campaigns will be announced as they continue to be developed during 2025.
Tourism now contributes 7.5 percent of GDP and continues to be New Zealand’s second highest export. The Tourism Satellite Account shows total tourism expenditure in New Zealand of NZD 44.4 billion for the year ending March 2024, an increase of NZD 5.6 billion or 14.6 percent compared to March 2023.
Overseas visitor expenditure increased by NZD 6.3 billion (59.9 percent) to NZD 16.9 billion. International expenditure grew almost 60 percent in the year ending March 2024.
More news here.
