International Visitor Survey data release materials

On this page, we provide a link to the new data visualisations for the December 2023 quarter (Q4) and year ending December 2023. Summaries of previous releases are also provided.

2023 Quarter 4 release

Data visualisations for the year ending December 2023, the December quarter 2023, and for previous quarters, can be found on the Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre (TEIC). A printable PDF containing top-line results is also available here.  

International Visitor Survey (IVS)(external link) — TEIC

The March 2024 release contains the following charts for the year ending December 2023 (Q1,2,3 and 4 2023).

  • Total spend
  • Spend by product category e.g accommodation, entertainment
  • Length of stay
  • Median total and daily spend per visitor
  • Mean total and daily spend per visitor
  • Activities
  • Māori cultural experiences
  • Visitor satisfaction
  • Accommodation

New visualisations were added to the TEIC each quarter between September 2022 and September 2023. For December quarter 2023 results, there are no new quarter visualisations.

High-level results are published on the TEIC. Micro data can be found on the IVS data download page.

IVS data download

Visitor numbers and composition type are recovering to pre-pandemic levels. Some differences between type, and level of, spending since the border reopened, and historic levels remain.   

There remains a higher than usual proportion of visitors traveling to visit friends and family compared to pre-pandemic levels, which is contributing to lower spend.

For the 12 months to December 2023, visitor arrivals from China were 28% of pre-pandemic levels, however numbers had increased to 53% for December month 2023. For December month 2023 visitor arrivals from Australia and the United States were 82% and 92%, respectively, of their pre-pandemic levels.

Historical data on the IVS data page

2020 and previous releases

International Visitor Survey (IVS) data is presented in the following user-friendly formats.

  • Infographic: provides a visual summary of international visitor expenditure and arrival numbers by key markets.
  • Key data table: provides a summary of international visitor expenditure by key markets and purpose of visit.
  • Pivot tables: provide estimates of international visitor expenditure, and margins of error, by key overseas markets and purpose of visit for every year.

September 2019 data release

International visitor survey infographic year ending September 2019 [PDF, 553 KB]

International visitor survey key data year ending September 2019 [PDF, 194 KB]

International visitor survey pivot table September 2019 [XLSX, 207 KB]

Please exercise caution when using Chinese expenditure estimates this quarter.

For the September 2019 quarter, the sample size for visitors from China was smaller compared to previous quarters (97 respondents against our target of 275). The IVS data is collected through a voluntary survey that visitors are encouraged to complete. The quality of the data relies in getting an appropriate sample size for the segment we're measuring.  We're working with our service provider to investigate the reasons for the low sample size, and how to ensure better response rates in the future.

The IVS data is presented as an annual figure that includes results from the last four quarters. For the September 2018 quarter, spend figures for Chinese visitors were lower than other quarters. Given that the lower-spend September 2018 quarter is no longer included in the annual result for the year ended September 2019, this has led to a corresponding rise in Chinese spend.

Earlier releases

Data summaries from earlier releases are grouped below by year and summary type.

Last updated: 05 March 2024