Tourism New Zealand spent more than $9.4 million on influencer marketing campaigns between January 2024 and September 2025, according to documents released under the Official Information Act. The agency engaged 65 influencers across global markets, but declined to provide individual payment breakdowns, citing commercial sensitivity.
The disclosure, obtained by the Taxpayers’ Union of New Zealand, reveals spending of $1.2 million in fiscal year 2023/24, $6.1 million in 2024/25, and $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2025/26. The figures include travel costs, production expenses, agency fees, influencer payments, events, and other in-market expenditures.
The influencer partnerships targeted markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, China, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Canada, and Germany. Campaigns ranged from promoting New Zealand as a “Minecraft” downloadable content destination to stargazing tourism, off-peak travel, and destination advocacy.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive René de Monchy stated in the response that the organization “uses a standardised selection process to ensure that messaging and content reach the intended audience, align with our brand, and deliver a return on investment.”
The agency said it evaluates influencers based on social profile, reach, engagement, and market suitability to represent the New Zealand brand. According to de Monchy, “a key influencer must have a genuine desire to partner with Tourism New Zealand to have the best outcome as an authentic storyteller.”
Performance Metrics and Evaluation
Tourism New Zealand revealed it measures campaign effectiveness through four key indicators: campaign recognition, including reach and engagement; ability to build positive perceptions of New Zealand; impact on generating holiday interest; and understanding of campaign messages.
The agency provided Equivalent Advertising Value (EAV) figures representing what similar coverage would have cost to purchase. The 2023/24 campaigns generated $307 million in EAV, while 2024/25 campaigns produced $389 million. The first quarter of 2025/26 yielded $148 million in EAV, though some campaigns had not yet launched at the time of reporting.
Tourism New Zealand noted that internal reporting and evaluations are structured around entire campaigns rather than individual marketing components, making it unable to attribute a portion of EAV directly to influencer content.
The disclosure comes as travel content on YouTube grew 64% in the second quarter of 2025, according to digital advertising firm Pixability. The travel category generated 593 billion views in Q2 2025, with creator-driven accounts comprising 95% of the top 4,000 channels by viewership. Pixability research indicates that users are 98% more likely to trust recommendations from YouTube creators than from creators on other social platforms.
Transparency Concerns
Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator Rhys Hurley said: “Tourism New Zealand has racked up likes, views, and follows, but when it comes to hard numbers, the agency can’t actually show what these influencers delivered.”
Hurley added: “If influencers are being paid to sell New Zealand to the world, taxpayers deserve to know how much they were directly paid and what they actually delivered in return.”
Tourism New Zealand’s response stated that fees paid to influencers are commercially sensitive, preventing the disclosure of individual payment amounts or detailed deliverables from influencers.
David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.
Tourism New Zealand spent more than $9.4 million on influencer marketing campaigns between January 2024 and September 2025, according to documents released under the Official Information Act. The agency engaged 65 influencers across global markets, but declined to provide individual payment breakdowns, citing commercial sensitivity.
The disclosure, obtained by the Taxpayers’ Union of New Zealand, reveals spending of $1.2 million in fiscal year 2023/24, $6.1 million in 2024/25, and $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2025/26. The figures include travel costs, production expenses, agency fees, influencer payments, events, and other in-market expenditures.
The influencer partnerships targeted markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, China, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Canada, and Germany. Campaigns ranged from promoting New Zealand as a “Minecraft” downloadable content destination to stargazing tourism, off-peak travel, and destination advocacy.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive René de Monchy stated in the response that the organization “uses a standardised selection process to ensure that messaging and content reach the intended audience, align with our brand, and deliver a return on investment.”
The agency said it evaluates influencers based on social profile, reach, engagement, and market suitability to represent the New Zealand brand. According to de Monchy, “a key influencer must have a genuine desire to partner with Tourism New Zealand to have the best outcome as an authentic storyteller.”
Performance Metrics and Evaluation
Tourism New Zealand revealed it measures campaign effectiveness through four key indicators: campaign recognition, including reach and engagement; ability to build positive perceptions of New Zealand; impact on generating holiday interest; and understanding of campaign messages.
The agency provided Equivalent Advertising Value (EAV) figures representing what similar coverage would have cost to purchase. The 2023/24 campaigns generated $307 million in EAV, while 2024/25 campaigns produced $389 million. The first quarter of 2025/26 yielded $148 million in EAV, though some campaigns had not yet launched at the time of reporting.
Tourism New Zealand noted that internal reporting and evaluations are structured around entire campaigns rather than individual marketing components, making it unable to attribute a portion of EAV directly to influencer content.
The disclosure comes as travel content on YouTube grew 64% in the second quarter of 2025, according to digital advertising firm Pixability. The travel category generated 593 billion views in Q2 2025, with creator-driven accounts comprising 95% of the top 4,000 channels by viewership. Pixability research indicates that users are 98% more likely to trust recommendations from YouTube creators than from creators on other social platforms.
Transparency Concerns
Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator Rhys Hurley said: “Tourism New Zealand has racked up likes, views, and follows, but when it comes to hard numbers, the agency can’t actually show what these influencers delivered.”
Hurley added: “If influencers are being paid to sell New Zealand to the world, taxpayers deserve to know how much they were directly paid and what they actually delivered in return.”
Tourism New Zealand’s response stated that fees paid to influencers are commercially sensitive, preventing the disclosure of individual payment amounts or detailed deliverables from influencers.
Checkout Our Latest Podcast