The bar chart displays the number of tourists from the UK, the US, and Japan who traveled to New Zealand in 1999 and 2009, while the line graph shows how tourists spent their holidays, either by staying at resorts or by backpacking, across the same period.
Overall, tourist numbers from the UK and the US rose significantly over the decade, while Japanese tourists showed a marked decline. Meanwhile, although staying at resorts was initially the most popular choice for tourists, backpacking saw a steady increase and reached an equal level of popularity by 2009.
In 1999, Japanese tourists represented the largest group visiting New Zealand, with 1.5 million arrivals, followed by 1 million from the UK and 800,000 from the US. By 2009, however, the UK had the highest number of tourists at 1.6 million, with the US close behind at 1.5 million. In contrast, Japanese visitor numbers fell to 1.1 million, placing them below both the UK and US in 2009.
Regarding holiday preferences, tourists overwhelmingly preferred staying at resorts in 1999, with 2 million choosing this option compared to just 250,000 who went backpacking. By 2004, both categories saw an increase, with resort stays peaking at around 2.5 million and backpacking growing to 1 million. However, by 2009, resort stays had sharply declined to 1 million, matching the number of tourists who chose to backpack, which continued its steady rise over the decade.