New Zealand's international tourism, receipts (current US$) was US$10.96 billion in 2018, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 57.46% from US$6.96 billion in 2008 (4.64% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$10.96 billion | 2018 |
| Five years earlier | US$7.43 billion | 2013 |
| Ten years earlier | US$6.96 billion | 2008 |
| Highest | US$10.96 billion | 2018 |
| Lowest | US$1.86 billion | 1998 |
| Average since 2009 | US$8.37 billion | 2009–2018 |
| First recorded | US$2.32 billion |
What the numbers say
In 2018, New Zealand's international tourism, receipts (current US$) rose 3.5% on 2017 (from US$10.59 billion to US$10.96 billion).
Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +8.1% and a typical year strayed about 14.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 35% in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 16% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$568.72 million a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2018, New Zealand had the 2nd highest value of the 23 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | US$10.96 billion | 2018 |
| World | US$1.86 trillion | 2019 |
| High income | US$1.15 trillion | 2019 |
Closest to New Zealand in the 2018 ranking
- Singapore — 1st of 23: US$20.42 billion
- Denmark — 3rd of 23: US$9.1 billion
- Dominican Republic — 4th of 23: US$7.56 billion
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 5th of 23: US$5.25 billion
What this measures
International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 24 values
| Year | International tourism, receipts (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 10,961,000,000 |
| 2017 | 10,594,000,000 |
| 2016 | 9,773,000,000 |
| 2015 | 9,464,000,000 |
| 2014 | 8,582,000,000 |
| 2013 | 7,434,000,000 |
| 2012 | 7,142,000,000 |
| 2011 | 7,295,000,000 |
| 2010 | 6,523,000,000 |
| 2009 | 5,979,000,000 |
International tourism, receipts (current US$) in nearby economies
- Australia — US$26.23 billion (2020)
- Brunei Darussalam — US$190 million (2018)
- Cambodia — US$1.12 billion (2020)
- Fiji — US$236 million (2020)
- French Polynesia — US$782 million (2016)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — US$32.7 billion (2019)
- Indonesia — US$3.53 billion (2020)
- Japan — US$11.4 billion (2020)
- Korea, Rep. — US$11.78 billion (2020)
- Lao PDR
More private sector & trade data for New Zealand
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 35.69% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$47.55 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$46.7 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.73% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 63.03% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 4.56% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 32.41% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is New Zealand's international tourism, receipts (current US$)?
- US$10.96 billion in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 372.86% from US$2.32 billion in 1995 (6.99% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$10.96 billion in 2018 and the lowest US$1.86 billion in 1998.
- How does New Zealand rank?
- 2nd highest of 23 economies with data for 2018.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts (current US$) unusual for New Zealand?
- In 2018, New Zealand's international tourism, receipts (current US$) rose 3.5% on 2017 (from US$10.59 billion to US$10.96 billion). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +8.1% and a typical year strayed about 14.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.RCPT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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