New Zealand recorded 201,900 overseas visitor arrivals in June 2026, up 8.1 per cent on a year earlier and equal to 95 per cent of June 2019 levels, Stats NZ figures show.
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New Zealand welcomed 201,900 overseas visitors in June 2026, up 8.1 per cent on June 2025 and equal to 95 per cent of the June 2019 pre-pandemic level, according to provisional Statistics New Zealand data.
On an annual basis, overseas visitor arrivals reached 3.67 million in the year ended June 2026. That was up 9 per cent, or about 299,000 people, on the previous June year and about 95 per cent of the 3.89 million recorded in the year ended June 2019.
Stats NZ international travel statistics spokesperson Dave O'Donovan said visitor arrivals were up almost 300,000 in the June 2026 year compared with the year before. He said visitors from Australia and China made up over two-thirds of the increase.
Australia remained the dominant source market. Arrivals from Australia totalled a record 1.59 million in the June 2026 year, up 144,400 on the prior year and above the 1.51 million recorded in the June 2019 year.
The United States contributed 385,500 arrivals, a record for a June year and above the 367,000 of June 2019. The United Kingdom supplied 196,500 arrivals, still below the 233,800 of June 2019.
China remained the largest gap among major markets. Arrivals from China reached 315,400 in the June 2026 year, up 67,000 year-on-year but still well below the 421,100 of the June 2019 year — about 75 per cent of the pre-pandemic level.
In the June month alone, Australia supplied 108,200 arrivals, a record for a June month. China arrivals were 14,300, up 27 per cent on June 2025, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said, citing the Stats NZ release.
Tourism New Zealand had targeted 3.7 million international arrivals by the end of June 2026. The year-ended June total of 3.67 million places the sector at that milestone on a rolling-year basis.
South Island airports collectively handled 1.05 million overseas visitor arrivals in the June 2026 year, up from 881,300 a year earlier. Queenstown airport recorded a record 493,500 overseas arrivals. Christchurch airport rose 21 per cent to 547,800. Auckland airport remained the main gateway, with 2.38 million overseas arrivals.
The June print arrived against softer global aviation demand. The International Air Transport Association reported global passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, fell 1.7 per cent in June 2026 compared with June 2025. Capacity fell 1.3 per cent and the passenger load factor was 84.2 per cent.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh linked the decline largely to weaker domestic markets in China, the United States and Japan, and still-soft Middle East international demand.
Upston said the New Zealand result kept the sector on track toward the Government’s goal of doubling the value of tourism exports by 2034. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tourism Growth Roadmap targets a lift from $9.9 billion of 2023 tourism exports to $19.8 billion by 2034.
For households and regional businesses, higher inbound volumes support accommodation, hospitality, transport and attractions employment, especially in tourism-exposed areas. Operators still face labour and infrastructure constraints as volumes approach pre-COVID levels.
NZX Main Board-listed Air New Zealand shares have not fully reflected the arrivals recovery. The carrier last traded near NZ$0.415, within a 52-week range of about NZ$0.40 to NZ$0.63, underscoring that capacity, yield and cost pressures can diverge from border-crossing headlines.
Near term, the data point to consolidation around 95 per cent of 2019 volumes, led by Australia and the United States. Medium term, closing the China gap and lifting yield per visitor will determine whether the 2034 export-value target is met without overloading constrained destinations.
