According to new data from Stats NZ, the Chinese New Year helped boost tourism in New Zealand in late summer.

In January, overseas visitor arrivals totalled 370,200, marking an increase of 43,800 compared to January 2024.

Over a third of this growth came from 15,200 additional Chinese tourists, although all major markets, except India, contributed more visitors to New Zealand than the previous year.

“The increase in overseas visitor arrivals from China coincided with the Chinese New Year, which began on January 29,” according to Stats NZ.

“Monthly arrivals from China typically peak in January or February each year, depending on the timing of the Chinese New Year. In 2024 the Chinese New Year began on 10 February.”

However, overall numbers have yet to return to pre-Covid levels. The total number of overseas visitor arrivals in January was 93% of the 399,300 people who visited in January 2019.

Of the 370,200 overseas visitors recorded in January, 38% were from Australia, 14% from the US, 10% from China, and 8% from the UK.

Whereas in the year leading up to January 31, 3.36 million overseas visitors arrived, marking an 11.36% increase compared to the previous year.

ASB economists noted that the inbound tourism market has been one of the few bright spots for the economy recently.

The bank's economists reported that visitor numbers for 2024 were up 12% compared to the previous year, and tourist exports reached $15.8 billion last year, marking an almost $3 billion annual increase, The New Zealand Herald reports.

“There were few signs that the increase in the tourism visitor levy is impacting visitor numbers, with the annual visitor numbers hitting five-year highs,” the economists stated.

The visitor levy increased from $35 to $100 in October.

The economists forecast annual tourist inflows to gradually rise, but still remain significantly below pre-Covid levels.

They noted that the resilience of higher-spending visitor markets, particularly the US, along with increased travel costs since Covid-19, likely meant that spending by overseas tourists had already returned to pre-pandemic levels.

“The challenge will be to continue to grow the sector at a time of heightened global uncertainty,” they added.