Domestic tourist visitor days

IBISWorld forecasts the total number of domestic tourist visitor days to increase 1.5% during 2024-25, to 55.7 million days. An expected increase in consumer sentiment and a rise in mortage affordability will encouraged domestic travel over much of 2024-25. However, given the growing popularity of international tourism, locals are expected to increasingly opt for overseas holidays, constraining growth in the total number of domestic tourist visitor days in the current year.

According to Statistics New Zealand, most domestic trips are undertaken for the purpose of a holiday, or to visit friends or relatives. Travelling for business purposes also accounts for a significant share of total domestic tourist visitor days. Other purposes for domestic travel include for education and medical reasons. Auckland is the most popular region for domestic travel, accounting for close to one-fifth of all domestic tourist visitor days. Auckland is New Zealand's most populous city and is home to numerous attractions and sporting events, encouraging tourism to the region. Business tourists are also most likely to visit Auckland. Other popular regions for domestic tourists include Waikato, Canterbury, Northland and Wellington. However, domestic tourism is spread across the country, with the reasons for travel varying between different regions. For example, many tourists visit Queenstown in the Otago region for skiing and other adventure activities, while many visit the Hawke's Bay region for food and wine experiences.

The number of domestic tourist visitor days has decreased modestly over the past five years, mainly due to the level of travel returning back to normal after a surge post-pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, growth had been relatively steady each year. However, domestic tourist visitor days declined over 2019-2020 and the first half of 2020-21, driven primarily by restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. According to the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (Hikina Whakatutuki), domestic spending on tourist accommodation in the three months ending June 2020 declined more than 60% compared with the same period in 2019. Domestic tourist numbers immediately surged after the removal of restrictions, causing a large spike in the second half of 2020-21. A significant fall over 2021-22 from the highs of the previous year saw travel levels return to normal. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the total number of domestic visitor days to fall by an annualised 0.9% over the five years through 2024-25.