Gisborne
Tourism in the Gisborne Region: who visits, what they spend, and how busy accommodation is. Ranked 16 of 16 regions by visitor spend.
Key facts: Gisborne tourism
- Visitors spent $108M in the Gisborne Region in the 12 months to , 9.0% more than the year before (MBIE MRTE).
- That ranks Gisborne 16th of New Zealand’s 16 regions for visitor spend (MBIE MRTE).
- International visitors accounted for 18.7% of that spend ($20M), and domestic visitors $88M (MBIE MRTE).
- United States of America is the largest international market by spend, at $8M over the latest 12 months (MBIE MRTE).
- The region recorded 1.5M visitor days in the 12 months to , 27% of them by international visitors, 8.5% less than the year before (MBIE TV&F).
- Commercial accommodation in Gisborne recorded 467K guest nights in 2025 (MBIE ADP).
Who visits Gisborne?
Monthly visitor days over the past two years, split by international and domestic visitors. This shows both the scale and composition of tourism to the region.
Domestic visitors account for 74% of all visitor days in Gisborne, making it a primarily domestic destination. Over the past 12 months: 1.1M domestic visitor days vs 408K international.
What is Gisborne worth?
Tourism spend from MRTE electronic card transaction data — the most granular regional expenditure measure available. The chart shows how international and domestic contributions have trended over the past two years.
International visitors represent 27% of visitor days but generate 19% of tourism spend — spending 0.6× more per day than domestic visitors ($50 vs $80 per visitor day).
Year-on-year change
Month-by-month spend change vs the same month in the prior year. Bars below zero indicate a year-on-year decline for that segment.
When do visitors come to Gisborne?
Monthly tourism spend by calendar year shows seasonal patterns and whether peak months are shifting. Peak daytime visitor counts show visitor pressure by day of year.
Jan is Gisborne's peak spending month — $10M in 2026.
Peak daytime visitor count in Gisborne reached 27K on 1 Jan 2026.
Where do visitors come from?
Tourism spend by origin market for Gisborne, based on the latest 12-month MRTE data. Shows which international countries and New Zealand regions drive the most visitor activity.
International markets
United States of America is Gisborne's largest international market, accounting for 42% of international tourism spend — contributing $8M in the latest 12 months.
New Zealand regions
Gisborne residents generate the most domestic tourism spend in Gisborne — 20% of all domestic visitor spend, totalling $18M over the past 12 months.
What does tourism spend in Gisborne?
Tourism expenditure by industry category over the latest 12-month period — showing which sectors of the regional economy benefit most from visitor activity.
Food & Beverage is the largest category of tourism spend in Gisborne, accounting for 44% of total visitor expenditure ($47M) over the latest 12 months.
Accommodation in Gisborne
Guest nights from the Accommodation Data Programme (ADP) — providing context on how visitors stay in the region. Data shown is for the latest complete calendar year.
Gisborne recorded 467K guest nights in 2025. International guests accounted for 13% of nights stayed — 58K nights, alongside 409K domestic guest nights.
Visitor experience in Gisborne
Satisfaction scores from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) and Domestic Visitor Survey (DVS), filtered to respondents who visited this region. Activities show what visitors participated in.
91% of international visitors to Gisborne were promoters; 29% said the trip exceeded expectations; the most participated-in activity was National park (203%).
How does Gisborne compare?
Ranked view of all 16 NZ regions. Select a metric to see where Gisborne sits nationally.
Gisborne ranks #16 of 16 NZ regions for Total Spend.
Monthly data
Raw monthly figures combining MRTE tourism spend and TVF visitor day data for Gisborne.