New Caledonia’s tourism sector is showing early signs of recovery after a dramatic collapse in visitor numbers following violent riots in May last year.

Figures from New Caledonia Tourism show arrivals from New Zealand plummeted to just nine people in June last year - a stark contrast to usual Kiwi visitor numbers.

The data shows in April last year – the month before the riots started – there were 813 New Zealander travellers, and in 2023, between 750 to 1,700 Kiwis arrived on New Caledonian shores each month.

Australian arrivals also bottomed out in June last year, to just 54.

But momentum is starting to build – with New Zealand visitor numbers rising to 244 in July this year – up from 96 in May.

Australian visitors reached 1,331, more than doubling the 660 visitors from May.

Overall international visitor numbers hit nearly 6000 in July - more than doubling numbers from the start of this year.

The riots in May 2024 were sparked by proposed voting reforms from the French Government, which aimed to change conditions that currently prevent up to a fifth of the population from voting in provincial elections.

The protests led to at least 13 deaths, a declared state of emergency, deployment of the French army, and the blocking of social media platform TikTok.

New Caledonia Tourism’s Australia-New Zealand Representative Caroline Brunel, said the impact on tourism was immediate and severe.

“When the riots started, visitor numbers collapsed almost overnight.”

“In April 2024, we had close to 800 arrivals from New Zealand and by June that fell to just nine which was extremely difficult.”

Brunel said the riots hit the tourism sector at a fragile time, following years of disruption and uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Many operators and businesses had no choice but to close, after being pushed to the brink,” she said.

Brunel said the New Zealand Government’s travel advisory, warning people to avoid non-essential travel, was kept in place for a full year after the riots.

“That meant travel insurance wouldn’t apply, so it was too risky for people to book a holiday,” she said.

That advisory was downgraded to “exercise increased caution” on May 5 this year.

Brunel said a lack of direct flights from Auckland to Nouméa also slowed recovery.

Air New Zealand suspended its service last June, with flights resuming next month.

New Caledonia’s National carrier, Aircalin, also cut weekly flights to just one last year and then increased that to two in April.

Brunel said capacity remained low on these flights, as seats were largely filled by New Caledonian residents travelling to and from New Zealand.

Despite the challenges, Brunel said the region is cautiously optimistic.

“With the travel advisory lifted and flights resuming, we’re hopeful that New Zealanders will start returning to New Caledonia. It’s been a long road, but we’re beginning to see the first signs of recovery.”

Kate Rickard is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist for Newstalk ZB covering tourism, immigration, and general news. She previously studied journalism at AUT before joining ZB full-time in April 2025.