Spend

Tourism spending on the West Coast fell 0.7% in the September 2022 year and guest nights also dropped 8.9%.

For the first time since the pandemic began, international visitor card spend exceeds pre-Covid levels.

Queenstown’s winter season saw visitor expenditure exceed pre-Covid levels off the back of a strong ski season and the return of events.

Visitors flocked to Queenstown over winter with total expenditure for June, July and August 2022 up 20% over the same period in pre-Covid 2019.

Marlborough’s local tourism expenditure was down 7.7% in the year to June – more than the 6.6% drop reported nationally, according to Infometrics.

International visitor spend has reached its highest level since the pandemic began thanks to the easing of New Zealand’s borders.

Card spending in hospitality fell to $891m in March 2022, down by 14.3% or $149m compared to the same month last year, according to Stats NZ.

Otago regional tourism organisation areas have topped October 2021 domestic spending growth versus the same month a year ago

Spending in the hospitality industry fell by $425m in September 2021, or 42.8% compared with the same month in 2020.

Card spending across the country rebounded to just 5% below pre-lockdown levels in the week to Tuesday 28 September – the first full week of Covid-19 alert level 3 for Auckland.

Spending in the hospitality industry fell $235m to $646m, down 26.7% in August 2021 compared to the same month last year, according to Stats NZ.

Travel services exports including international visitors and students in New Zealand returned $1.26bn in the June 2021 quarter.

The industries are being hammered again by lockdown but food and IT are surging.

Stats NZ says it is moving away from using electronic card transaction data to estimate foreign visitor expenditure.

Domestic visitor spend across the Wellington region has climbed to $1.06bn for the year ending June 2021, a 23.4% increase on the previous 12 months.

Drop in export of services due to the impact of closed border on international tourism and education.

The north Canterbury region has enjoyed a surge in an already strong domestic market.

Around 70% of Kiwis plan a holiday within NZ in the upcoming year, shows research from Kantar and TNZ.

The lack of tourists and Auckland’s lockdowns led to a “whopping” fall in card expenditure, says ASB.

Spending on international sea and air transportation services has risen steadily from the Covid-affected low in the June 2020 quarter, says Stats NZ.

Spending on accommodation in the December 2020 quarter fell to $967.91m, down 18% compared to the corresponding period a year earlier.

How did the river city, traditionally overlooked by visitors, top RTO area spend in 2020?

Four RTOs took in more tourism dollars in 2020 compared with a year earlier despite an absence of international visitors for the most of the period, according to MBIE.

Stats NZ domestic card spending data for December reveals a sluggish start to summer for the accommodation sector.

The latest TSA highlights the sector’s ability to generate income and provide employment.

Visitor spend for the September 2020 quarter fell to $1.47bn, down from $2.88bn for the same period last year, according to new government data.

Spending by overseas visitors and students within New Zealand fell by half to $1.5bn in the September 2020 quarter, compared with the same period last year, says Stats NZ.

This will continue to have a severe impact on New Zealand services exports, primarily tourism and international education.

Spending on travel agency and other tour arrangement services was down $128m, or 86%, compared to October 2019.

This compared with national growth of 3.4%, with all other regions seeing a rise in revenue including Northland up 10.7%, Canterbury up 7.1%, Wellingtonupt 5.4%, and Waikato up 3.7%.

Spending on hotels, motels, campgrounds, and other accommodation fell to $133.4m in September 2020, down 29% on the same month last year.

A booming pre-Covid cruise market saw cruise ship expenditure drop by just 3.2% in the year ending June 2020, despite the season being cut short by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Visitor spending in the Hawke’s Bay topped any other region during August.

Auckland’s second coronavirus lockdown dealt a further blow to the gateway city’s tourism economy already suffering from a lack of international visitors, with a 61% drop in tourist takings recorded in August.

March, April and May were “catastrophic” for the sector, says TIA.

Spending on travel and tourism services suffered in August 2020 due to Covid-19 alert level 3 restrictions in Auckland and alert level 2 for the rest of New Zealand, says Stats NZ.

Visitors spent $12.6m in Whanganui during July, which was more akin to spending over summer holidays than a typical winter month.

Tourism businesses are suffering large financial hits while the Covid-19 alert level 3 for Auckland continues, says Tourism Industry Aotearoa.

Spending on accommodation services was down 44%, or $418m in the June 2020 quarter.

July 2020 was the second full month of relatively normal “business as usual” since the initial Covid-19 lockdown earlier this year, says Marketview.

More was spent on food and beverage but less on accommodation despite the school holidays.

June 2020 was the strongest June on record for Whanganui despite the impact of Covid-19, according Whanganui & Partners.

Nationwide spend across the accommodation sector through Paymark in July 2020 was 10.9% below the same month last year.

The region saw visitor spend jump by almost two-thirds in the two weeks to 19 July, compared to the same corresponding period in 2019.

Three South Island regions were the hardest hit by stifled tourism spend during the three-month peak of New Zealand’s Covid-19 crisis, according to TIA analysis of the Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates.

June 2020 was the first full month where retail spending was back to ‘normal’ following the more restrictive lockdown phases, says Marketview.

Hospitality spending on accommodation and food and beverage bounced back in June.

Domestic tourism spend rebounded to $827m in May 2020, up from $177m in April, according to the latest Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates.

Spending on eating out and on hotels, motels, and other accommodation fell 41%, or $428m, in May, according to new figures from Stats NZ.

Half of the country’s RTO areas suffered visitor spending falls of 90% or more in April 2020, the first full month of lockdown.