Southland
Tourism in the Southland Region: who visits, what they spend, and how busy accommodation is. Ranked 9 of 16 regions by visitor spend.
Key facts: Southland tourism
- Visitors spent $605M in the Southland Region in the 12 months to , 2.2% more than the year before (MBIE MRTE).
- That ranks Southland 9th of New Zealand’s 16 regions for visitor spend (MBIE MRTE).
- International visitors accounted for 38.1% of that spend ($230M), and domestic visitors $374M (MBIE MRTE).
- United States of America is the largest international market by spend, at $93M over the latest 12 months (MBIE MRTE).
- The region recorded 7.7M visitor days in the 12 months to , 30% of them by international visitors, 0.2% more than the year before (MBIE TV&F).
- Commercial accommodation in Southland recorded 1.3M guest nights in 2025 (MBIE ADP).
Who visits Southland?
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 71% of all visitor days in Southland, making it a primarily domestic destination. Over the past 12 months: 5.4M domestic visitor days vs 2.3M international.
What is Southland 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 30% of visitor days but generate 38% of tourism spend — spending 1.5× more per day than domestic visitors ($101 vs $69 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 Southland?
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.
Mar is Southland's peak spending month — $65M in 2026.
Peak daytime visitor count in Southland reached 40K on 1 Jan 2026.
Where do visitors come from?
Tourism spend by origin market for Southland, 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 Southland's largest international market, accounting for 40% of international tourism spend — contributing $93M in the latest 12 months.
New Zealand regions
Southland residents generate the most domestic tourism spend in Southland — 47% of all domestic visitor spend, totalling $175M over the past 12 months.
What does tourism spend in Southland?
Tourism expenditure by industry category over the latest 12-month period — showing which sectors of the regional economy benefit most from visitor activity.
Other Passenger Transport is the largest category of tourism spend in Southland, accounting for 24% of total visitor expenditure ($147M) over the latest 12 months.
Accommodation in Southland
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.
Southland recorded 1.3M guest nights in 2025. International guests accounted for 50% of nights stayed — 654K nights, alongside 643K domestic guest nights.
Visitor experience in Southland
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 Southland were promoters; 56% said the trip exceeded expectations; the most participated-in activity was National park (338%).
How does Southland compare?
Ranked view of all 16 NZ regions. Select a metric to see where Southland sits nationally.
Southland ranks #9 of 16 NZ regions for Total Spend.
Monthly data
Raw monthly figures combining MRTE tourism spend and TVF visitor day data for Southland.