Tourist arrivals topped 3.5 million for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by a surge in Australian visitors.

Stats NZ numbers showed overseas visitor arrivals hit 3.51 million in the year ended December 2025, up 6 percent from the prior year.

The agency said it was the first annual period to exceed 3.5 million since the year ended March 2020.

However, total annual visitor arrivals were 90 percent of 2019 levels, before the Covid pandemic began globally.

It said Australia was the biggest source of visitors, up 10 percent from 2024, followed by the United States and China.

More than 1.5 million tourist arrivals were from Australia in 2025, followed by 385,000 from the United States, and 262,000 from China.

"Holidaymakers were the main driver of the annual increase in overseas visitor arrivals in 2025 from 2024, followed by those visiting friends or relatives," Stats NZ international travel spokesperson Bryan Downes said.

Visiting friends or relatives was the second most common reason for travel, Stats NZ said.

"The increase in overseas visitors to New Zealand in 2025 coincided with a 4 percent increase in flights into the country compared with 2024," Downes said.

The country's two main international airports both reported additional seasonal flights for the peak summer period for tourism in New Zealand.

Auckland Airport, the main gateway for overseas visitors, said in December that international capacity for the 2025/26 summer was up nearly 4 percent (207,000 seats) on the 2024/25 period.

Christchurch Airport said in November it expected a record summer season in 2025/26, with international capacity up 15 percent on the prior year.