The tourism industry of New Zealand is receiving considerable assistance to restore its strength with an initial boost of NZD $4 million (approx. USD $2.32 million) towards the marketing of Tourism New Zealand within Australia, the US and China. Furthermore, there will also be NZD $1 million allocated to attract business to those areas as well. The timing is right for this type of investment, as at the moment the international visitor numbers coming into New Zealand are at 94% of pre-COVID levels, and total international visitor spend increased from NZD $11.2 billion in December 2023 to NZD $13.7 billion by December 2026 (a NZD $2.5 billion increase).
The key to making the support of this investment strategic is that it is being aimed at a historically reliable and profitable area of tourism called ‘business events’, which traditionally have been the weakest performers due to under-utilisation. In 2025, business events were responsible for generating NZD $925 million of economic activity (735K international visitor nights). Generally speaking, delegates attending a conference or other business-related functions are regarded as high-yield visitors, in that they tend to spend significantly more than a regular tourist would, and they often visit New Zealand during the off-season. This stimulates consistent demand across all the hotel, transportation, and venue companies involved.
There are very clear economic implications to consider, too. In terms of potential impact, MBIE states tourism is New Zealand’s second-largest export, generating an estimated NZD $17 billion for GDP and providing approximately 200,000 jobs. In this sense every dollar spent on advertising can not only be considered promotional but also a tool to create jobs; increase regional development; and improve international visibility. MBIE aims to reach and build upon its strongest inbound visitor markets through a continued focus on high-value business events. Therefore, New Zealand is clearly preparing for Phase 2 of its recovery and looking forward to achieving “smarter” rather than “more” growth.
