Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates
26 June 2026
MBIE
Methodology update
The methodology has been updated to align MRTEs more closely with the Tourism Satellite Account, using industry-level data provided by Stats NZ. Estimates are aligned with TSA figures up to March 2025, with a proprietary method used for more recent periods. This enhances consistency and confidence in the data.
Changes to data availability
Due to increased volatility in the “Other Tourism” category (which includes industries not traditionally associated with tourism, and account for approximately a third of visitor spending), MRTEs will no longer be published at the Territorial Authority (TA) level but will continue to be published at Regional and Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) levels.
The Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates (MRTEs) provide estimates of regional monthly expenditure that indicate tourism's contribution to the national and regional economies. The MRTEs estimates are based on Tourism Electronics Card Transaction (TECT) and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) data.
MRTEs were previously produced from 2016 to 2020 but were discontinued in 2020 due to data disruptions caused by COVID‑19. They were replaced by the TECTs as an interim measure.
More information on MRTEs can be found on MBIE's website.
The latest files can be downloaded in the section below.