'Literally a perfect storm': Queenstown sees bumper September as visitor numbers skyrocket

A literal perfect storm may have helped Queenstown have one of it's busiest September's on record for tourism. 

Stats NZ data shows tourist arrivals hit a record high of 273 thousand that month – 4% higher than the pre-pandemic record set in September 2019. 

We've been welcoming record tourists from Australia, China, Taiwan, and Singapore. 

Destination Queenstown & Lake Wanaka Tourism Chief Executive Mat Woods told Ryan Bridge the area's had fantastic late snow fall. 

He says Australia didn't have great snow all season, so booking started when they saw how good the Kiwi ski season was. 

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