The recent figures from the New Zealand Tourism Forecasts 2017–2023 released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment project that the country’s tourism sector will grow significantly over the next seven years, with international visitors expected to spend $15.3 billion a year by 2023.
“The figures released today confirm that New Zealand’s tourism sector is in good shape. Visitor arrivals are projected to reach 4.9 million annually by 2023—up 39% from the 3.5 million visitors who came here in 2016,” Toursim Minister Paula Bennett says.
“The government is focused on helping the tourism sector attract visitors who bring value to our communities—those who spend more, stay longer and explore regions around New Zealand, as well as the main tourist spots.
“We still have work to do, but it’s great to see that the amount visitors spend per day is expected to grow by nine percent over the forecast period. For our second-largest market, China, this figure is 17%.
“Overall, international visitor spending is forecast to exceed $15 billion annually by 2023, up an impressive 52% from annual visitor spending of $10 billion in 2016. This equates to a solid growth rate of over six percent per annum, which is great news for our regional economies.
“Tourism is already our biggest export earner, and adds immense value to our country by directly employing over 180,000 people. With this strong growth, we must continue to ensure that our regions have the infrastructure and ability to meet the pressures that tourism brings.”
Read about the Tourism Infrastructure Fund announced by the tourism minister here:
https://www.nzmcd.co.nz/news/1705/tourism-infrastructure-fund-announced
