Travel overseas by Kiwis dipped in Sep, but Stats NZ figures show some markets continue to perform strongly.
The number of those taking short trips was 3.06 million in the Sep year, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous 12 months. As the Kiwi dollar neared 24-year lows against some currencies, travel to the US was down 29,000 for the year and to Britain was down 11,000 to 105,000. But trips to Australia were up 11,000 to 1.28 million for the year. And there was record travel for any year to a number of destinations, including India (118,000) and Vietnam (41,000).
Kiwi travellers also set records for a Sep year to some destinations, including China (172,000) and the Cook Islands (116,000).
. . . Sep Shift
The figures also show a dip in the Sep month with 260,300 Kiwis returning from trips, a decrease of 20,400 trips compared with Sep 2025.
As the Nov election loomed, the biggest changes were in Australia (down 9,100), the US (down 2,900), Britain (down 2500), Fiji (down 1600), Japan (down 1300) and Indonesia (down 1300). There was a 1900 boost in travel to South Africa, where the All Blacks toured.
While outbound travel eased, inbound tourist numbers were up 310,000 for the year to Sep, reaching 3.74 million, show the figures.
