International visitor numbers to selected national parks

Main visitor statistics & research
National Parks

These are estimates of international visitors to larger national parks. The data is obtained from the International Visitor Survey which is conducted by the Ministry of Tourism.

Calendar year Abel Tasman Fiordland Westland Aoraki/Mt Cook Tongariro Paparoa
1997 28,800 196,100 205,500 154,300 32,100 11,700
1998 31,100 234,500 207,300 147,100 41,900 30,100
1999 31,700 205,100 233,900 135,500 45,500 33,400
2000 54,400 250,300 278,900 158,400 48,600 40,500
2001 48,200 239,300 271,500 143,100 51,800 40,500
2002 57,900 273,000 280,900 158,100 55,100 44,400
2003 93,000 308,400 342,300 157,700 80,800 71,200
2004 94,400 393,700 362,400 209,900 96,700 87,700
2005 95,800 409,700 386,000 201,000 100,300 98,300
2006 96,700 438,000 372,800 192,200 95,000 116,700
2007 110,700 439,900 376,700 172,700 97,800 97,400
2008 119,300 441,200 379,300 201,800 83,200 121,200

The proportion of international visitors visiting at least one national park during their visit is about 30% and has varied little over the series.

Notes:

  • Estimates rounded to the nearest hundred
  • For confidence intervals see the Ministry of Tourism website. For an estimate of 100,000 visitors the 95% confidence interval is 12.5%. For 400 000 visitors it is 6.8%.
  • IVS Data have been revised since 2007, as described on the Ministry of Tourism website.

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