Wellington Tourism Statistics

Tourist spending in Wellington City reached $2.39 billion in the year ending March 2025, with $825.5 million generated from international visitors and $1.56 billion from domestic visitors².

• The tourism revenue remained almost constant with 2024’s figure ($2.38 billion) and only 20 million higher than 2023’s figure ($2.37 billion).
• Total tourism revenue in 2025 represented a 47.5% increase compared to the $1.62 billion in 2021 and a 38.2% increase from $1.73 billion in 2022.
• When compared to pre-pandemic year, It was 6.2% higher than the $2.25 billion recorded in the year ending March 2020.

How much do tourists spend in Wellington in 2025?

Visitors spent $2.39 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2025, 6.2% higher than the pre-pandemic level (FY 2020).

• International visitors spent $825.5 million, while domestic visitors spent $1.56 billion in that year.

How much do tourists spend in Wellington in 2024?

Tourist spending in Wellington reached $2.38 billion in the year ending March 2024.

• Domestic spending accounted for $1.65 billion of this total, marking a 7.3% decrease.
• Spending by international visitors rose by 25.2% to $733.9 million.

How much does it cost to visit Wellington?

• In 2024, international visitors to Wellington spent an average of NZ$4,910 per trip, which includes accommodation, food, transport, and activities, reflecting the city’s strong appeal to high-value travelers and its growing impact on New Zealand’s tourism economy.

• Tourists visiting Wellington stay an average of 4.8 days per trip in 2024. This figure reflects the mean duration across all visitor types (domestic and international) using short-term accommodation, such as hotels, motels, and vacation rentals.

Visiting friends and relatives is the main reason for international tourists visiting Wellington each year.

• In 2024, Visiting friends and relatives made up the majority, with around 92,450 visitors, a 12.3% increase over the last year.
• Holiday visits was the second most popular reason, with approximately 35,029 visitors, up 11.2% from 2023.
• Business travel accounted for a smaller but significant amount, with 17,900 visitors.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic deeply affected Wellington’s tourism, evident in the international arrival statistics and spending figures for 2020 and 2021.

• In 2020, Wellington Airport saw 50,527 international arrivals, a decrease of approximately 77% from 2019.
• In 2021, the number of international arrivals further decreased to 16,751, a 67% drop from 2020.
• In the year ending March 2021, tourism spending fell to $1.62 billion, a 28% drop from 2020.
  • Domestic spending decreased slightly to $955.7 million, while international spending fell to $80.4 million in 2021 which was an 87.4% drop from $639 million in 2020.
• There was a slight recovery in total spending in the year ending March 2022, with spending reaching $1.73 billion (a 6.8% rise from 2021's $1.62 billion)..
  • Domestic spending increased to $1.59 billion, while international spending rose to $140 million.

• In the year ending December 2019, Wellington Airport welcomed over 218,839 international arrivals.
• In the fiscal year ending March 2019, Wellington's total tourism expenditure was $1.59 billion, with $973.2 million from domestic visitors and $614.6 million from international visitors.
• By the end of March 2020, the total expenditure increased by 0.6% to $1.6 billion, with domestic expenditure slightly decreasing to $964.2 million, while international expenditure grew by 4% to $639 million.