Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston made the announcement with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland this afternoon, where the pair visited the Weta Workshop Unleashed exhibition.
The service sector in New Zealand – which includes tourism, retail and hospitality – has been struggling to recover and gain traction in recent months.
Upston said the government was relentlessly focused on economic growth and data showed tourism would play a leading role in this going forward.
“Today I’m delighted to announce a $13.5 million investment for Tourism New Zealand to encourage more international visitors across multiple markets.
“Encouraging more visitors means more people staying in our hotels, eating in our cafés, spending in our shops and visiting our attractions, creating jobs and driving economic growth.”
The initial investment would focus on encouraging visitors from China, Australia, the United States, India, Germany and South Korea, Upston said.
“We know international marketing works, with around 14% of international holiday visitors already being directly influenced by Tourism NZ’s marketing activity.
“We have encouraging signs coming through from our ‘Everyone Must Go!’ campaign focused on Australia, but we won’t stop there.
“2025 is our chance to reinforce the value of tourism and show what our humming, vibrant country has on show. New Zealand tourism is open for business.”
Upston said it was estimated the $13.5 million investment would result in an extra 23,000 international visitors by the end of March 2026, bringing an additional $100 million.
In February, the government announced a $30 million spend on tourism infrastructure and biodiversity projects in the country.
Specific campaigns will be announced as they are developed over the course of this year.
