Arrivals from China, which before Covid was the second biggest source of visitors, have yet to recover to their pre-pandemic level
Tourism overtook dairy as the nation’s top overseas earner in 2016 and remained there until the Covid-19 pandemic closed borders in 2020, decimating the industry.
The industry, which makes up around 8 per cent of gross domestic product and directly employs 6.8 per cent of the labour force, has recovered much of the lost ground.
However, arrivals from China, which before Covid-19 was the second biggest source of visitors, have yet to recover to their pre-pandemic level.
Tuesday’s Tourism Satellite Account report shows overseas visitor arrivals rose 4.3 per cent to more than 3.3 million in the 12 months to March 2025.
