The local tourism market has appeared to have slowed down for another month, with international visitor rates falling further.
June marks the second month in a row of falling tourism arrivals. Tourism arrivals in June were down 2.5 percent from May, which was 0.5 percent down from April, all on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Although year-end growth in arrivals is still positive, at 5.0 percent, arrivals have stuck at 87 percent of pre-pandemic levels for the past three months, which is no better than the post-COVID level of activity first seen in February 2024.
Growth in arrivals slowed for most major markets in June. Within the top 10 markets, only the UK and Singapore posted appreciable growth, with arrivals up 12 percent and 23 percent from June 2024 respectively. Arrivals from Canada edged up 0.1 percent, but arrivals from the US eased 1.6 percent. The US is still firmly our second-largest tourism market, with US arrivals in June 50 percent higher than Chinese arrivals, currently our third-largest market.
Departures of NZ tourists rose 2.4 percent in June 2025 from May, reaching 105 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
New Zealand’s tourism recovery appears to be stalling, with arrivals stuck at 87 percent of pre-pandemic levels for the past three months, and growth slowing across most markets. A weaker outlook for global growth could be adversely affecting consumer behaviours, and doubly so in our second-largest market, the US.
Growth in international tourism had been propping up economic activity in many regional tourism markets, as domestic tourism spending has been falling for the past two years. However, as international growth dries up, the overall tourism spend could start to contract.
New flights to Australia from Hamilton and Dunedin commenced in June, the first scheduled international flights for these ports since before the pandemic. Inbound tourists made up 56 percent of arrivals on these flights, a promising early indication that the inbound tourism benefit of these flights could balance out any loss from more Kiwis heading overseas.
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