Travel lifts international services trade

According to recent data from Stats NZ, travel has overtaken transportation to become New Zealand's largest service import and export. In the September 2023 quarter, travel imports totalled $1.96bn, while exports reached $2.48bn, marking a significant rise from $1.65bn and $2.43bn respectively in the June 2023 quarter. The value of travel imports has now returned to pre-Covid levels demonstrating that the sector has recovered from the impact of the pandemic. International events, such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, are thought to have been a factor in the increase. However, overall trade with China has been down in the quarter, with exports declining by $893m to $4.19bn, and imports falling by $802m to $4.52bn.