Visitor economy

Auckland as a destination
Economic impact

Auckland as a destination

Composition of tourism expenditure

Source: Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile

Auckland - monthly guest nights

Source: Fresh Info Accommodation Data Programme (ADP)

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland offers the first taste of New Zealand for many international visitors. International tourism has recovered strongly, but it is not yet back to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Around 75 per cent of New Zealand’s international visitors pass through Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland at some point in their journey. This helps drive Auckland’s visitor economy, even if their primary destination is elsewhere.

Domestic tourism is also extremely important for Auckland’s visitor economy. Domestic visitors are particularly attracted to Auckland by major events, concerts and festivals that they may not otherwise be able to experience in their own regions. The retail and hospitality offerings in Auckland are also attractive.

The visitor economy was greatly impacted by COVID-19, as New Zealand had some of the world’s most restrictive border controls. The recovery has been strong – international passenger arrivals at Auckland Airport were up 9 per cent for the year ending January 2025. While international visitor numbers as a proportion of the total increased in 2024, they remained below pre-COVID-19 (2019) levels. This trend continued into the first three months of 2025 where international passenger arrivals (excluding transits) were still 7.5 per cent below pre-pandemic (2019) levels.

International visitors typically spend more than domestic visitors, and so a shift back toward more international visitors is increasing tourism expenditure.

    • The year to March 2025 saw 2.25m international visitor arrivals to Auckland. 

      • This is an increase from 2% from 12 months ago. 

    • The region had 7.4m total guest nights in the year to March 2025, a decrease of 0.9% on the previous year. 

      • Domestic guest nights (4.5m) were the driver of this decline (-1.5%). International guest nights increased slightly (0.1%).  

      • January 2025 was the most popular month, with nearly 800,000 total guest nights.

    • There has been an increase in international visitors from all major markets for the year to March 2025, except for the US (-3%). 

    • Longer-terms projections from STR Global and Oxford Tourism Economics suggest an annual increase of 2.5% in hotel occupancy over the next three years.

    For more data on Auckland’s visitor economy, see Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Monthly Auckland Destination Overview reports.

    • In the year to March 2025, 46% of tourism expenditure came from international visitors. 

      • This is a slight increase from 43% in the year to March 2024 reflecting the ongoing recovery of international tourism.

      • This is a larger proportion than the rest of New Zealand, which has a greater proportion of domestic visitor spending. 

    • International visitor arrivals have increased by 2% in the year to March 2025, while spending was up 8.6%.

      • International visitors generally spend more than their domestic counterparts. So an increase in international visitors leads to an even greater increase in visitor expenditure. 

    • These trends are encouraging for the Auckland tourism sector, with patterns that more closely resemble the pre-COVID-19 period, with a greater impact from international visitors than in recent years.

    • Compared to the rest of New Zealand, visitor spending in Auckland is more concentrated in ‘retail sales’ (excluding fuel and groceries) and ‘cultural, recreation and gambling services’, but less in ‘accommodation’ and ‘passenger transport

      • It should be noted, however, that compared to 2019, spending on ‘passenger transport’ and ‘accommodation’ has seen the biggest proportional decline. 

Sources: Number of visitors – TAU: Monthly Auckland Destination. Composition of tourism expenditure, spending patterns – Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile. Auckland guest nights – Fresh Info Accommodation Data Programme (ADP)

Economic impact

Employment GDP Expenditure
2023 45,489 $5,058m $7,687m
2024 52,747 $5,997m $8,282m
Growth 2023-2024 16.0% 18.6% 7.7%
Metric 2023 2024 Growth
2023
-2024
Employ-
ment		 45,489 52,747 16.0%
GDP $5,058m $5,997m 18.6%
Expend-
iture		 $7,687m $8,282m 7.7%

Economic contribution of visitor economy to Auckland

Source: Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile

Tourism contributed $6bn to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s GDP in the year to March 2024.

Auckland's tourism industry is experiencing a robust recovery, led by significant employment growth and resulting in an increasing contribution to the region’s GDP. Tourist spending has also rebounded strongly, reflecting both increased visitor numbers and a shift in spending patterns. However, all of these metrics are still below pre-COVID levels.

    • The tourism industry employed 5.3% of Auckland’s workforce in 2024.

      • This is lower than the rest of New Zealand (7.2%).

    • Auckland’s tourism industry employed 53,000 people in the year to March 2024.

      • This was an increase of 16.0% since 2023, a growth rate which exceeds the rest of New Zealand (12.5%).

      • This was still below the 70,000 people employed in 2019.

      • The rest of New Zealand’s  tourism industry employed 130,000 individuals, also below pre-pandemic levels.

    • The tourism sector contributed 3.8% of Auckland’s total GDP in the year to March 2024. 

      • This proportion has increased since 2023 (3.2%). 

      • This proportion is lower than for the rest of New Zealand (4.2%). 

    • In 2024, tourism in Auckland contributed $6bn to GDP, a 19% increase from 2023. 

      • The rest of New Zealand's tourism sector contributed $11bn to GDP, a 6% increase from 2023.

      • Although tourism GDP continues to grow, it is still 21% below pre-COVID-19 values.

    • Tourist spending increased by 1.8% in Auckland, in the year to March 2025, reaching $8.4bn. 

      • This value is only 4.6% below 2019 expenditure if inflation is not taken into account. 

    • The rest of New Zealand saw a decline in tourist spending (-0.7%).

    • Domestic visitor spending accounted for the majority (54%) of spending in 2025 – this was not the case prior to the pandemic (2019: 48%)

Source: Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile

Auckland Economic Monitor

A summary of key economic information about the region

Download the report

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