Sam Mackinnon: Hospitality New Zealand spokesperson on the international visitor spend increasing

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Sep 2, 2025 · 2m · transcript

Overseas visitors are back and here to spend, with tourism hotspots like Queenstown reaping the benefits.

The latest International Visitor Survey results show a 5% increase in international tourists over the past year.

Spending has increased by more than 4%, but still remains at 86% of pre-pandemic levels.

Hospitality New Zealand spokesperson Sam Mackinnon told Andrew Dickens he's hoping the spending will soon become more regionally dispersed.

He says councils across the country are working on their destination management plans, so they can get a slice of the tourism pie.

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