In Brief: New Zealand’s hospitality industry is experiencing a resurgence, driven primarily by leisure travel, even as business travel continues to lag in the post-pandemic recovery.
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Leisure Travel Drives New Zealand’s 2025 Recovery While Business Travel Remains Behind – Image Credit Horwath HTL
Leisure Leads, Business Lags
Stats NZ’s latest international visitor data showed that New Zealand’s recovery in 2025 was led by holidaymakers, with business travel still well behind. Holiday arrivals reached 1.79 million, about 9% below 2019 but around 12% higher than 2024, signaling another step-up in leisure demand. Business arrivals were 203,033, about 41% below 2019 and only slightly above 2024, pointing to a slow, incremental rebuild. A relatively weaker NZD against both the AUD and USD made New Zealand feel better value for key trans-Tasman and long-haul markets.
Australia was the standout. Australian holiday arrivals reached 657,445 in 2025, about 8% ahead of 2019 and roughly 15% above 2024, supported by strong trans-Tasman air capacity and targeted Tourism New Zealand campaigns in Australia. Australian business arrivals (135,010) were about 36% below 2019 and only modestly above 2024. The data did not show any meaningful change in average length of stay to suggest more combined business-and-holiday trips.
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New Zealand – Leisure Leads, Business Lags
