Tourism is a vital contributor to Wellington's economy, resulting in some $1.4 billion in expenditure per year.
Thanks to its diverse events calendar, cafe culture, nightlife and artistic edge, Wellington is the undisputed creative capital of New Zealand, as well as its political centre. We believe it's the best little capital in the world.
Below are some facts about Wellington and its tourism industry that media might find useful. You might also want to check out the latest tourism research.
Tourism
- The visitor sector contributes $1.4 billion in expenditure per annum (an average of $3.8 million per day) and accounts for approximately 10% of Wellington’s regional domestic product.
- Our little city has more than 8 million visitor nights per year.
- Wellington’s success story is its domestic visitor market. Wellington has 3.8 million domestic visitor nights per year and visiting New Zealanders contribute $557 million to the city’s economy every year – that’s $1.5 million a day.
- International guests spend 4.3 million visitor nights and $536 million in Wellington per year.
- Wellington’s top international visitor market is our dear neighbour Australia. One third of all of our international visitors come from across the ditch. Australians spend 917,000 visitor nights and $152 million in Wellington per year.
Wellington Trivia
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has five floors and is the equivalent size of three rugby fields.
- Legend has it that Wellington's well-known Parliament building, the Beehive, was actually designed on the back of a cigarette pack at a joke and the designer never dreamt it would be built.
- Thorndon - the birthplace of great New Zealand author Katherine Mansfield - is New Zealand's oldest suburb and is home to New Zealand's oldest hotel (now named The Shepherd's Arms) and the oldest public bar (The Thistle Inn).
- It's said that Wellington has more cafes, bars and restaurant per capita than New York.
Wellingtonians
- Wellingtonians are known as some of the fittest New Zealanders, with 11% of its residents walking to work.
- Wellington's population is the most well-educated and highly-skilled in New Zealand - 23% of its residents hold university qualifications, compared with a national average of 8%.
