Overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand totalled 3.74 million in the September 2026 year, up 309,800 (9 percent) compared with the September 2025 year, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
Australia and China led the increase in overseas visitor arrivals. There were 1.61 million visitor arrivals from Australia in the September 2026 year, up 123,500 (8 percent) compared with the previous year.
Visitor arrivals from China increased 94,100 (38 percent) to 340,100.
"Together, Australia and China accounted for almost three-quarters of the increase in overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand in the September 2026 year," international travel statistics spokesperson Sarah Drake said.
| Visitor source market | Number |
| Australia | 123512 |
| China | 94068 |
| Taiwan | 14529 |
| United States | 9219 |
| Japan | 6889 |
| Singapore | 6888 |
| Malaysia | 6139 |
| Canada | 5776 |
| Hong Kong (special administrative region) | 5504 |
| United Kingdom | 4915 |
Record visitor numbers from the United States
There were 390,100 visitor arrivals from the United States in the September 2026 year, up 9,200 (2 percent) compared with the September 2025 year. This was a record number of visitor arrivals for any year from that country.
California accounted for the largest number of visitor arrivals from the United States who specified a state of residence. This was followed by Texas, Florida, and New York.
"Residents of California accounted for more than one-fifth of visitor arrivals from the United States in the September 2026 year," Drake said.
| States of residence | 2026 | 2025 |
| California | 83237 | 80799 |
| Texas | 28032 | 28387 |
| Florida | 20763 | 19937 |
| New York | 20673 | 19117 |
| Washington | 17314 | 16831 |
| Colorado | 14249 | 14983 |
| Hawaii | 13369 | 10995 |
| Illinois | 11319 | 11387 |
| Utah | 11117 | 12307 |
| Virginia | 9522 | 9279 |
California, Texas, New York, and Hawaii all have direct flights to New Zealand.
More than two-thirds (266,500) of visitor arrivals from the United States gave a holiday as their main reason for travelling to New Zealand in the September 2026 year, up 7,900 (3 percent) compared with the previous year.
Fewer trips to the United States by New Zealand-resident travellers
New Zealand residents made 131,700 trips to the United States in the September 2026 year, down 29,500 (18 percent) compared with the previous year.
"Whilst we saw a record number of visitor arrivals from the United States in the September 2026 year, we also saw fewer New Zealand residents travelling in the opposite direction," Drake said.
| Year ended September | Number |
| 2017 | 205512 |
| 2018 | 214471 |
| 2019 | 208583 |
| 2020 | 88507 |
| 2021 | 3370 |
| 2022 | 48011 |
| 2023 | 154060 |
| 2024 | 167437 |
| 2025 | 161220 |
| 2026 | 131734 |
The decrease in the number of trips made by New Zealand residents to the United States was mainly due to fewer people travelling to that country for a holiday.
A holiday/vacation was the main purpose given by 54,900 New Zealand residents returning from trips to the United States in the September 2026 year, down 20,700 (27 percent) compared with the previous year.
Overall, there were 3.06 million New Zealand-resident travellers in the September 2026 year, down 14,400 (less than 1 percent) compared with the September 2025 year.
"New Zealand-resident travellers include both New Zealand and non-New Zealand citizens living in New Zealand who are returning from a trip overseas shorter than 12 months," Drake said.
