Hawke's Bay
Tourism in the Hawke's Bay Region: who visits, what they spend, and how busy accommodation is. Ranked 11 of 16 regions by visitor spend.
Key facts: Hawke's Bay tourism
- Visitors spent $392M in the Hawke's Bay Region in the 12 months to , 6.2% more than the year before (MBIE MRTE).
- That ranks Hawke's Bay 11th of New Zealand’s 16 regions for visitor spend (MBIE MRTE).
- International visitors accounted for 24.6% of that spend ($96M), and domestic visitors $296M (MBIE MRTE).
- United States of America is the largest international market by spend, at $36M over the latest 12 months (MBIE MRTE).
- The region recorded 6.5M visitor days in the 12 months to , 28% of them by international visitors, 3.1% less than the year before (MBIE TV&F).
- Commercial accommodation in Hawke's Bay recorded 947K guest nights in 2025 (MBIE ADP).
Who visits Hawke's Bay?
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 73% of all visitor days in Hawke's Bay, making it a primarily domestic destination. Over the past 12 months: 4.7M domestic visitor days vs 1.8M international.
What is Hawke's Bay 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 28% of visitor days but generate 25% of tourism spend — spending 0.9× more per day than domestic visitors ($54 vs $63 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 Hawke's Bay?
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 Hawke's Bay's peak spending month — $39M in 2026.
Peak daytime visitor count in Hawke's Bay reached 35K on 1 Jan 2026.
Where do visitors come from?
Tourism spend by origin market for Hawke's Bay, 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 Hawke's Bay's largest international market, accounting for 37% of international tourism spend — contributing $36M in the latest 12 months.
New Zealand regions
Hawke's Bay residents generate the most domestic tourism spend in Hawke's Bay — 19% of all domestic visitor spend, totalling $57M over the past 12 months.
What does tourism spend in Hawke's Bay?
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 Hawke's Bay, accounting for 43% of total visitor expenditure ($168M) over the latest 12 months.
Accommodation in Hawke's Bay
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.
Hawke's Bay recorded 947K guest nights in 2025. International guests accounted for 20% of nights stayed — 190K nights, alongside 757K domestic guest nights.
Visitor experience in Hawke's Bay
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.
92% of international visitors to Hawke's Bay were promoters; 50% said the trip exceeded expectations; the most participated-in activity was National park (210%).
How does Hawke's Bay compare?
Ranked view of all 16 NZ regions. Select a metric to see where Hawke's Bay sits nationally.
Hawke's Bay ranks #11 of 16 NZ regions for Total Spend.
Monthly data
Raw monthly figures combining MRTE tourism spend and TVF visitor day data for Hawke's Bay.