Tourism New Zealand receives $5 million to entice more visitors

Tourism New Zealand has received a multi-million-dollar government funding boost in a bid to attract more visitors and business events.

The government wants international visitor arrivals to return to pre-pandemic levels this year.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston has announced $4 million in funding earmarked to expand existing marketing in Australia, the United States and China, while the rest would go towards attracting more business events.

Tourism New Zealand is chasing conference bids worth a record $253 million over the next financial year.

Louise Upston said the organisation had made strong progress towards its goal with visitor arrivals sitting at 94 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

"We're putting the pedal to the metal - building on that momentum to drive growth, jobs and incomes," she said.

"While the recent fuel crisis may affect travel plans, we're working closely with the sector to ensure New Zealand remains an attractive destination. These investments will help attract more visitors sooner and deliver real benefits for communities across New Zealand."

The funding was from the international visitor levy, which was introduced in 2019 to help mitigate visitor pressures on communities and conservation.

Business Events Industry Aotearoa data suggested that multi-day conferences generated more than 735,000 international visitor nights and supported $925 million in economic activity in 2025.

This financial year, Tourism New Zealand secured 110 bids worth $185 million.

Business events global manager Penelope Ryan said the organisation would chase the same number of bids over the next year but pursue record value.

"We're confident we can meet this ambitious new value target and continue to deliver lasting benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand," she said.

"There's been a strong recovery in the business events sector numbers over the past year. We have a record number of international conferences booked and a very strong pipeline of bids, and we want to build upon that."

She welcomed the government's funding boost, saying it would help to increase the number of bids.

"Business events will continue to be a high-value part of our visitor mix, bringing people who spend more, travel outside peak seasons and contribute to growing New Zealand's knowledge economy," Ryan said.