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.
