20 Apr 2023

Tourist numbers creeping back up

From Morning Report, 7:28 am on 20 April 2023

Summer tourist numbers bounced back this year to about half of what they were pre-Covid.

Overall, as well as domestic travellers, we welcomed close to 900,000 overseas visitors.

That's about two thirds of the number of international tourists who came here before the pandemic.

Lake Takapō/Tekapo

Lake Takapō/Tekapo Photo: 123rf.com

For the tourism industry, it's been a welcome reprieve after a tumultuous few years, but the summer wasn't without hurdles.

Tourism reporter Tess Brunton has more.