Category: Tourism

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Tourism: New Zealand’s most Instagrammable destinations

Source: NZCasinoClub

Hobbiton officially ranks as the most Instagrammable destination in New Zealand, with more than 470,000 hashtagged posts on Instagram.
Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park ranks second, with 445,000 hashtagged posts.
Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook and Cathedral Cove also make the top five most Instagrammable spots.

The Lord of the Rings Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata, New Zealand has been ranked as the most picturesque destination in the country, according to Instagram data.

Experts at New Zealand online casino guide, NZCasinoClub, analyzed Instagram hashtag data for 25 locations across New Zealand to find those that have been tagged by users the most.

The data was gathered and analyzed using Instagram hashtags, to find which popular areas of the country had the most hashtags, making them the most ‘Instagrammable.’

The Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata was found to be New Zealand’s most snapped location according to the social media site, with 473,000 posts containing the hashtag #hobbiton.

The Tolkien tourist destination, where a significant portion of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were filmed, features more than 40 Hobbit Holes embedded in its rolling green hills, several of which visitors can enter for themselves. The location, which attracts more than half a million visitors each year, was originally a sheep farm before it was scouted by Peter Jackson and his crew back in 1998.

The second most Instagrammable location is Milford Sound, a fiord in the Southwest of the country’s South Island, within Fiordland National Park. Known for the towering Mitre Peak, the area of outstanding beauty has been tagged on 445,000 Instagram posts.

Lake Tekapo takes the third spot with 272,000 posts the hashtag #laketekapo. Despite being home to just 720 residents, the clear lakes, beautiful mountain scenery and abundance of wildflowers in the springtime have secured this tiny township the third most picturesque spot in New Zealand.

In fourth place is Mount Cook with 218,000 posts containing the hashtag, #mountcook. The mountain is the highest in the country at 3,724 metres and was allegedly climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary in preparation of his ascent of Mount Everest.

Appearing in fifth place is Cathedral Cove with 122,000 posts on Instagram featuring the hashtag #cathedralcove. Located on the southern part of Mercury Bay, the naturally formed archway provides the perfect backdrop for visitors looking to capture their travels.

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October boost for accommodation – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: Accommodation survey: October 2018

October boost for accommodation – 17 December 2018

Guests spent more nights in hotels, motels, and holiday parks in October, Stats NZ said today.

Overall guest nights rose 3.9 percent in October 2018 compared with October 2017, helped by more nights spent in hotels, motels, and holiday parks. However, fewer nights were spent in backpackers than last October, down 2.1 percent.


Annual backpacker guest nights have been tapering off since a peak in the year ended December 2017. Nights spent in backpackers fell 1.7 percent in the year ended October 2018 from the previous October year.

“Since the annual high for backpacker nights in 2017, nights have dropped off the most in the West Coast and Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman regions, while nights in Canterbury and Waikato have risen,” acting accommodation and constructions statistics manager Dave Adair said.

Falling guest nights can be influenced by a variety of factors, typically by guests spending fewer nights in accommodation, but also by businesses shutting down or changing the type of accommodation they offer. Accommodation type changes can include a backpacker becoming a hotel or motel, or by converting to long-term accommodation, which is excluded from the survey.

Total guest nights continued to reach record levels at 40.2 million in the year ended October 2018, up 2.6 percent from the October 2017 year. Hotels, motels, and holiday parks recorded increases, up 3.9 percent, 0.8 percent, and 5.8 percent respectively.

The Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in short-term commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels, backpackers, and holiday parks. Hosted and private accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts and holiday homes, are excluded.

For more information about these statistics:

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Stats NZ Report: International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand: October 2018

International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand – 26 November 2018

The latest edition of International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand: October (IVA) is now available on the Stats NZ website.

IVA is a monthly report produced by Stats NZ and sponsored by Tourism New Zealand. It contains detailed tables and graphs of monthly and annual data, showing the number and characteristics of visitor arrivals. IVA provides information in addition to the visitor arrivals information released two working days earlier in the International Travel and Migration: October 2018 release. In particular, airport information released in the IVA is not included in the international travel and migration statistics.

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New Zealanders take more overseas trips than ever before – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: International travel and migration: October 2018

New Zealanders take more overseas trips than ever before – 22 November 2018

Over 3 million New Zealand residents arrived back from overseas trips in the year ended October 2018, Stats NZ said today. This was up 175,100 from the October 2017 year.

More and more Kiwis have been taking overseas trips in recent years, with the number growing almost as fast as that for visitor arrivals. Only 10 years ago there were fewer than 2 million trips a year.


Australian school holidays boost visitor numbers

In October 2018, 283,600 visitors arrived in New Zealand, 13,100 more than in October 2017 – led largely by Australia. Visitor arrivals from Australia were up 9.7 percent when compared with October last year.

The largest movements for the month were:

  • Australia (up 9,900)
  • United States (up 3,100)
  • Korea (down 2,200)
  • China (down 1,600).

“More arrivals from Australia was partly due to their school holidays beginning later in September this year than last year,” population insights senior manager Brooke Theyers said.

“More holiday travel in October this year boosted our visitor numbers slightly from the same month in 2017.”

Down month for Asian arrivals

More arrivals from Australia helped compensate for a lower number of visitors from Asia. There were 75,200 visitor arrivals from Asia in October 2018, down 3.7 percent (2,900) from the same month last year.

For recent years Asia has been the fastest growing source region for visitors to New Zealand, which makes October’s fall rather unusual. Despite this fall, for the year ended October 2018 arrivals from Asia were up 8.7 percent (83,100), for a total of 1.04 million visitors.

Departure cards are gone

From 5 November 2018, travellers leaving New Zealand no longer need to complete a passenger departure card. This change affects the release of travel and migration statistics in several ways.

New release schedule

Removing departure cards means changes to the timing and composition of this release. Statistics on short-term movements (including the current report International visitor arrivals to New Zealand) will be published in a new International travel release, and long-term movements in a new International migration release.

Both releases will be published on the same day, up to 30 working days after each reference month. November data, previously published just before Christmas, will now be published in January, and December data in February.

Release calendar

The new release schedule largely reflects the need to use integrated administrative data to provide place-of-residence in New Zealand for migrants and short-term resident travellers. This replaces information from the departure card. The timing is also affected by the new method to produce ‘provisional’ migration estimates.

Integrated Data Infrastructure provides the admin data.

More information

See Migration Data Transformation 

For more information about these statistics:

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Net migration is lowest since 2015 – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: International travel and migration: October 2018

Net migration is lowest since 2015 – 22 November 2018

Annual net migration has eased to its lowest level in three years, Stats NZ said today. For the year ended October 2018, it fell to 61,800.

Net migration for the October 2018 month was 6,700, down 1,000 from October 2017.

Overall, net migration was down 8,900 from the October 2017 year, reflecting both fewer migrants arriving in New Zealand and more leaving the country.

For the October 2018 year compared with the October 2017 year:

  • migrant arrivals were 128,100, down 3,500
  • migrant departures were 66,400, up 5,400.


“Although migrant departures continue to be the driving force behind falling annual net migration, October also had a noticeable fall in the number of migrant arrivals,” population insights senior manager Brooke Theyers said.

“Both trends helped bring annual net migration to its lowest level since the year ended September 2015.”


Text alternative for Permanent and long-term migration, year ended October 2018.

Departures for non-New Zealand citizens were 31,800, up 4,400 for the year. Arrivals for non-New Zealand citizens dropped to 96,700, down 2,800.  More New Zealand citizens left the country long-term than returned after living overseas for more than a year – leading to a net loss of 3,100 New Zealand citizens in the 12 months.

Departure cards are gone

From 5 November 2018, travellers leaving New Zealand no longer need to complete a passenger departure card. This change affects the release of travel and migration statistics in several ways.

New release schedule

Removing departure cards means changes to the timing and composition of this release. Statistics on short-term movements (including the current report International visitor arrivals to New Zealand) will be published in a new International travel release, and long-term movements in a new International migration release.

Both releases will be published on the same day, up to 30 working days after each reference month. November data, previously published just before Christmas, will now be published in January, and December data in February.

Release calendar

The new release schedule largely reflects the need to use the Integrated Data Infrastructure to provide place-of-residence in New Zealand for migrants and short-term resident travellers. This replaces information from the departure card. The timing is also affected by the new method to produce ‘provisional’ migration estimates.

Migration estimates

The release in January will fully adopt the outcomes-based measure of migration, first released in May 2017. This measure looks at the travel history of a passenger over a 16-month follow-up period, and classifies a border-crossing according to how long they spent in New Zealand rather than relying on the stated intention on the passenger cards.

Update on the development of provisional external migration estimates

‘Provisional’ migration estimates are a timely measure of migration; they are revised each month until they are finalised after 16 months. Further updates about provisional estimation are planned for late November and December 2018.

‘Final’ migration estimates, based on the ‘12/16-month rule’ and released today on Infoshare, are now updated to June 2017.

Outcomes versus intentions: Measuring migration based on travel histories explains more on the new approach.

More information

See Migration Data Transformation 

Text alternative for Permanent and long-term migration, year ended October 2018

Diagram shows arrivals of non-NZ citizens were 96,700, down 2.8 percent; departures were 31,800, up 16.1 percent; this made a net migration gain of 64,900 non-NZ citizens.

Arrivals of NZ citizens were 31,400, down 2.2 percent; departures were 34,600, up 3.0 percent; this made a net migration loss of 3,100 NZ citizens.

Result is a total net migration gain of 61,800.

Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. Percentage changes are indicative of the October 2018 year compared with the October 2017 year.

For more information about these statistics:

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Record annual guest nights surpass 40 million – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: Accommodation survey: September 2018

Record annual guest nights surpass 40 million – 12 November 2018

Nights spent in short-term commercial accommodation set a new record in the year ended September 2018, surpassing 40 million guest nights for the first time, Stats NZ said today.

Annual guest nights exceeded 30 million in the year ended July 2004, and were over 20 million in the year ended June 1997, when annual records began.


“Since guest nights reached 30 million 14 years ago, hotels have led the growth, accounting for more than a third of all guest nights in 2018,” accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

“Annually, guests spent more nights in hotels than motels for the first time in 2008, when motel nights dipped during the global financial crisis. Since then hotels have consistently been the largest provider of short-term commercial guest nights in New Zealand.”

Annual guest nights in Queenstown–Lakes district grew the most in the last 14 years. Following the Canterbury earthquakes (2010/11), Queenstown–Lakes district took over from Christchurch as the second largest territorial authority area for guest nights.

“Guest nights spent in Queenstown–Lakes district are now approaching levels seen in central Auckland,” Ms McKenzie said.

In the month of September 2018, total guest nights rose 2.9 percent, compared with September 2017.

The Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in short-term commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels, backpackers, and holiday parks. Hosted and private accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts and holiday homes, are excluded.

For more information about these statistics:

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Asian markets boost visitor arrivals – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: International visitor arrivals to New Zealand: September 2018

Asian markets boost visitor arrivals – 24 October 2018

New Zealand had 258,200 overseas visitor arrivals in September 2018, up 5,400 from the same month last year, Stats NZ said today.

Australia remains New Zealand’s single biggest source of visitors, but an increasing number of visitors came from Asia in September, which is typically a lower season for tourists.

Although nearly half of all visitors in September 2018 were from Australia (123,500), numbers were down 3,500 on September last year.

In contrast, visitor arrivals from Asia were up 5,100 compared with September last year, continuing an ongoing trend. The increased arrivals came from:

  • China (up 1,700)
  • Malaysia (up 1,600)
  • Hong Kong (up 700).

Visitor numbers from the United States were also up 1,800 compared with September last year.

Sydney most popular airport

In September 2018, 65,800 visitors arrived from Sydney, making it the most popular port for flights to New Zealand. Including Sydney, four of the top five source ports for visitor arrivals were in Australia, the others being:

  • Melbourne (44,700)
  • Brisbane (34,700)
  • Coolangatta (13,600).

Hong Kong was the only non-Australian port in the top five, and was the source of 11,100 overseas visitor arrivals in September 2018.

Holidaymakers reach 2 million in September year

Visitors arriving for the main purpose of a holiday reached 2 million in the year ended September 2018. This was up 83,300 from the year ended September 2017 – the first time a September year has reached this level.

Travelling for a holiday or vacation was the most common reason for visiting New Zealand. Other travel purposes were:

  • visiting friends and relatives (1.09 million)
  • business (301,900)
  • attending conferences/conventions (76,800)
  • education (68,400).

Australia accounted for over half of visitors travelling to visit friends and relatives (577,700).

Total visitor arrivals for the September 2018 year were 3.81 million, up 130,900 from the September 2017 year.

Final days for departure cards

From 5 November 2018, travellers leaving New Zealand will no longer need to complete a passenger departure card (see Final call for travel departure cards). This change will see a full adoption of the outcomes-based measure of migration, first released in May 2017 (see Outcomes versus intentions: Measuring migration based on travel histories).

Update on migration estimates

Stats NZ is also developing provisional migration estimates to maintain timely statistics. An update was published in early October (see Update on the development of provisional external migration estimates) and further updates are planned for November and December.

New release schedule

The removal of the departure card means changes to the timing and composition of the International travel and migration release. Statistics on short-term movements (including the current report International visitor arrivals to New Zealand) will be published via a new ‘International travel’ release, and long-term movements in a new ‘International migration’ release. Both releases will be published on the same day, up to 30 working days after each reference month. November data, previously published just before Christmas, will now be published in January, and December data in February (see Release calendar).

The new release schedule largely reflects the need to use integrated administrative data (ie Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure) to provide place-of-residence within New Zealand of migrants and short-term resident travellers. This replaces information from the departure card. The timing is also affected by the new method to produce provisional migration estimates.

For more information about these statistics:

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Hotels, motels, and holiday parks more popular than ever – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: Accommodation survey: August 2018

Hotels, motels, and holiday parks more popular than ever – 10 October 2018

People spent a record number of nights at hotels, motels, and holiday parks in the August 2018 year, but nights spent at backpackers fell, Stats NZ said today.

“Most accommodation types have seen growth in the past year, except for backpackers – where guest nights have fallen,” accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

“Almost 40 million nights were spent at short-term commercial accommodation in New Zealand, in the year ended August,” Ms McKenzie said. “Guest nights spent at hotels have more than doubled in the past 20 years and are now the most popular type of accommodation.”

In the 12 months ended August 2018 compared with the August 2017 year, the number of guest nights were:

  • 14 million at hotels, up 3.6 percent
  • 12 million at motels, up 0.9 percent
  • 8 million at holiday parks, up 6.2 percent
  • 5 million at backpackers, down 1.6 percent.

The areas with the strongest growth in guest nights in the past year were Christchurch, Queenstown-Lakes, and Rotorua. Auckland region’s guest nights fell 1.4 percent following a record August 2017 year.

Hosted and private accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts and holiday homes, are not included in these statistics.

Guest nights up in August month mainly due to North Island

More Kiwis staying in commercial accommodation in the North Island caused guest nights to increase 3.4 percent in the August 2018 month compared with August 2017. This followed a relatively flat August 2017 (down 0.3 percent from August 2016), which was dampened by fewer domestic guest nights in the North Island.

For more information about these statistics:

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Stats NZ Report: International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand: August 2018

International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand

25 September 2018

The latest edition of International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand: August 2018 (IVA) is now available on the Stats NZ website.

IVA is a monthly report produced by Stats NZ and sponsored by Tourism New Zealand. It contains detailed tables and graphs of monthly and annual data, showing the number and characteristics of visitor arrivals. IVA provides information in addition to the visitor arrivals information released two working days earlier in the International Travel and Migration: August 2018 release. In particular, airport information released in the IVA is not included in the international travel and migration statistics.

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Guest nights flat in July as international nights fall – Stats NZ Media and Information Release: Accommodation survey: July 2018

Guest nights flat in July as international nights fall – 12 September 2018

A 3.4 percent drop in international guest nights contributed to a quiet month for short-term commercial accommodation in July 2018, Stats NZ said today.

Total guest nights were relatively unchanged in July 2018, up 0.1 percent from July 2017. A 2.4 percent increase in the number of nights Kiwis spent in accommodation only just offset a 3.4 percent fall in international nights.


“This July’s decrease in international guest nights follows July peaks in both 2017 and 2016. The increase in July 2017 had coincided with the tail end of the Lions tour,” accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

See July guest nights up 1.4 percent on a year ago.

In annual terms, international guest nights are still up. In the 12 months to July 2018, international guests spent 17.5 million nights in accommodation (up 3.5 percent from the July 2017 year), while domestic guests spent 22.4 million nights (up 1.4 percent).

Guests spent a total of 39.9 million nights in short-term commercial accommodation, up 2.3 percent from the July 2017 year.

The accommodation survey collects data for guests staying in short-term commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels, backpackers, and holiday parks. Hosted and private accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts and holiday homes, are excluded.

For more information about these statistics: