Kia ora THE I trust you're all feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after the Easter and Anzac break, gearing up for what is sure to be a busy and productive month ahead. I spent the long weekend in Northland with friends and family. In crunching the numbers, the February data from Stats NZ is positive, reporting 63,700 international visitors from the US over the month, a new record for US arrivals. The February year-end data also shows that 3.3m visitors arrived in New Zealand over the year, an increase of 247,017 (+8%) from the February 2024 year-end. Next week is a big one for many of us, with TRENZ 2025 taking place in Rotorua from 6-8 May. TRENZ is New Zealand's largest international tourism business event, bringing hundreds of international buyers together to meet with leading tourism operators to make new connections, strengthen relationships and negotiate business. The three days provide such a valuable opportunity to showcase the best of New Zealand tourism, our unique culture, commitment to sustainability, and so much more. There's always a real buzz at TRENZ, so I'm really looking forward to it, and hope to see many of you there too.
We've also been hard at work building destination New Zealand's presence overseas, with our Business Events team spending time on the ground connecting with association decision makers in Tokyo and Osaka, and in Singapore where we represented New Zealand at The Meetings Show APAC. Next on the agenda is IMEX Frankfurt in late May, one of the world's leading business events tourism trade shows. We'll have an impressive presence at the show, with a full-scale Hobbit Hole ™ located on the 100% Pure New Zealand stand, with real grass and flowers to bring it all to life and entice buyers to bring their next conference or incentive here.
These trade shows are hugely important for the tourism industry, with business event visitors spending over $100 more per day than other visitors to New Zealand. With the recent announcement of an additional $3 million in funding to support business events, these trade shows have come at an ideal time for us to promote New Zealand as a unique and memorable destination. 
You may have also seen that Tourism New Zealand has also received an additional $13.5 million in funding as part of the Government's Tourism Boost package, aiming to accelerate international visitor arrivals from core markets from July to December 2025, and through to March 2026 overall.
This will be used to bolster our international marketing activity, which is the primary lever for increasing arrivals to New Zealand. We know there are millions of people within our core markets who are actively considering a visit to New Zealand, so it's a fantastic opportunity for us to capitalise on this and accelerate growth for the tourism sector. This investment is expected to bring an additional 23,000 visitors to New Zealand and deliver over $100 million in visitor spending.
As always - if you have any questions, feedback, or want to get in touch with myself or one of the Tourism New Zealand team, please contact us.
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