Fiordland National Park Tourism Statistics

Published 13 May 2025 · Updated 12 Apr 2026

Fiordland National Park, located in New Zealand’s South Island, is renowned for its dramatic fjords, towering mountains, and lush rainforests. It is home to iconic sites like Milford Sound and diverse wildlife, including rare native birds.

How many tourists visit Fiordland National Park each year?

Fiordland National Park in New Zealand’s South Island is part of the wider Fiordland region, which attracts approximately 600,000-700,000 visitors annually (excluding pandemic years), around 80% of whom are international.

Visitation numbers:

2018: 737,125
2019: 724,708
2020: 392,450 (46% decrease YoY)
2021: 236,276 (further 40% decrease YoY)
2022: 331,607 (40% increase YoY)
2023: 641,600

Bar chart of annual visitor numbers to the broader Fiordland region from 2018 to 2023, from 737,125 in 2018 down to 236,276 in 2021 and back to 641,600 in 2023 — Note: Visitor figures represent the broader Fiordland region, not Fiordland National Park specifically.

Fiordland National Park Tourist Attractions

Milford Sound/Piopiotahi: A popular destination in Fiordland National Park, cruises along the fiord, waterfalls and glacier-carved mountains.
Doubtful Sound / Patea: A fiord in Fiordland National Park, accessed by boat ride across Lake Manapouri and bus ride through the forest.
Te Anau Glowworm Caves: Glowworms unique to New Zealand. Boat cruise across Lake Te Anau and guided walk through the caves.
Key Summit: 2-hour hike on the Routeburn Track, mountain views from the summit.
Humboldt Falls: Short walk through the rainforest to a lookout point for Humboldt Falls (275m / 900ft).

How long do tourists spend in Fiordland National Park?

Most visitors come on day trips and don’t stay overnight in the park. Some tourists stay longer for hiking and exploring, those who stay overnight average around 2 nights in the Fiordland region¹.

How many tourists visited Fiordland National Park in 2023?

In 2023, the Fiordland region hosted 641,600 visitors, a 93% increase from the previous year. This brought tourism close to pre-pandemic levels.

How many tourists visited Fiordland National Park in 2022?In 2022, visitors increased by 40% from the previous year, reaching a total of 331,607 visitors.

Other Resources

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Fiordland tourism (2020 and 2021)Visitor arrivals dropped 46% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decline continued into 2021, with a further 40% decrease bringing the total visitor count to 236,276 as travel restrictions remained.

Fiordland National Park Inbound Tourism Statistics in 2019

There were 724,708 visitors in 2019.
Tourists spent approximately NZ$249 million in Fiordland, where Fiordland National Park is located².

Fiordland National Park Popular Hiking TracksMilford Track: 4 days, 53km, commonly called “the finest walk in the world”. 14,000 people trek the Milford Track each year.
Routeburn Track: 32km Great Walk (2-4 days) between Fiordland and Mt. Aspiring National Parks. 9,800 bookings for this track in the 2019-20 season.
Kepler Track: 3-4 day, 60km loop track starts and ends near Te Anau. Several thousand hikers each year.

Campervan hire in New Zealand

References

Tourism — Southland Data · southlanddata.nz ↑
Tourism Report — Milford Opportunities Project · milfordopportunities.nz ↑
Fiordland National Park — WorldAtlas · worldatlas.com
International travellers boost Southland tourism industry — Stuff · stuff.co.nz
Milford Track FAQs — Fiordland Outdoors · fiordlandoutdoors.co.nz
Thousands more NZers book Great Walks than overseas visitors — RNZ · rnz.co.nz