The services trade deficit narrowed to 696 million NZ dollars (425 million U.S. dollars) in the December 2023 quarter, compared with 2.1 billion NZ dollars (1.28 billion dollars) in the December 2022 quarter, the Stats NZ said.
The main contributor to the narrowing of the deficit was an increase in travel exports, which increased 44 percent compared with the December 2022 quarter to 3.7 billion NZ dollars (2.26 billion dollars), it said, adding travel exports represent the amount spent by visitors in New Zealand during the period.
"Travel exports continue to rise as international travel patterns slowly return to normal," Stats NZ international trade manager Alasdair Allen said.
While there were a lot more visitors arriving by plane and on cruise ships, the country is still not quite seeing pre-COVID levels of visitation, Allen said.
Spending by visitors from China has increased in the December 2023 quarter compared with the December 2022 quarter but is still not at its pre-COVID levels, he said, adding Australia remains the leading contributor for New Zealand's increase in travel exports.
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