Taranaki
Tourism in the Taranaki Region: who visits, what they spend, and how busy accommodation is. Ranked 12 of 16 regions by visitor spend.
Key facts: Taranaki tourism
- Visitors spent $259M in the Taranaki Region in the 12 months to , 4.0% more than the year before (MBIE MRTE).
- That ranks Taranaki 12th of New Zealand’s 16 regions for visitor spend (MBIE MRTE).
- International visitors accounted for 19.9% of that spend ($52M), and domestic visitors $208M (MBIE MRTE).
- United States of America is the largest international market by spend, at $20M over the latest 12 months (MBIE MRTE).
- The region recorded 3.6M visitor days in the 12 months to , 25% of them by international visitors, 5.9% less than the year before (MBIE TV&F).
- Commercial accommodation in Taranaki recorded 793K guest nights in 2025 (MBIE ADP).
Who visits Taranaki?
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 76% of all visitor days in Taranaki, making it a primarily domestic destination. Over the past 12 months: 2.7M domestic visitor days vs 880K international.
What is Taranaki 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 25% of visitor days but generate 20% of tourism spend — spending 0.8× more per day than domestic visitors ($59 vs $77 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 Taranaki?
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 Taranaki's peak spending month — $26M in 2026.
Peak daytime visitor count in Taranaki reached 20K on 4 Apr 2026.
Where do visitors come from?
Tourism spend by origin market for Taranaki, 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 Taranaki's largest international market, accounting for 38% of international tourism spend — contributing $20M in the latest 12 months.
New Zealand regions
Taranaki residents generate the most domestic tourism spend in Taranaki — 26% of all domestic visitor spend, totalling $54M over the past 12 months.
What does tourism spend in Taranaki?
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 Taranaki, accounting for 37% of total visitor expenditure ($97M) over the latest 12 months.
Accommodation in Taranaki
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.
Taranaki recorded 793K guest nights in 2025. International guests accounted for 15% of nights stayed — 117K nights, alongside 677K domestic guest nights.
Visitor experience in Taranaki
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 Taranaki were promoters; 46% said the trip exceeded expectations; the most participated-in activity was National park (313%).
How does Taranaki compare?
Ranked view of all 16 NZ regions. Select a metric to see where Taranaki sits nationally.
Taranaki ranks #12 of 16 NZ regions for Total Spend.
Monthly data
Raw monthly figures combining MRTE tourism spend and TVF visitor day data for Taranaki.