International visitor spending has increased by 31 per cent to $9.7 billion in the year to December 2015 according to the latest International Visitor Survey.

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These figures further confirm that the tourism sector’s focus on increasing both value and volume is working, with high-spending overseas visitors choosing to spend their money in our country,” Mrs Bennett says.

New Zealand’s major tourism markets drove the latest results, with significant increases in total spending by visitors from China, up 63 per cent to $1.6 billion and the United States up 40 per cent to $1 billion. Expenditure from Australia, New Zealand’s largest market, increased 19 per cent to $2.4 billion.

“It’s great to see that spend per person is continuing to rise, with the December spend up to $3,440 – which has been a key goal for the sector,” says Mrs Bennett.

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New Zealand has already celebrated a record three million visitors in 2015 and the industry is now our second-largest export earner.

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More impressively, it’s now worth $10.6 billion, or nearly 5 per cent of our GDP, and one in every 8 people employed are now directly or indirectly related to tourism.

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Our well-deserved reputation as a premiere destination is supported by the Government’s commitment to growing the tourism sector and backing diverse and resilient regional economic growth.

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Since 2008, we’ve invested over $700 million in tourism and tourism promotion, an unprecedented amount. These December results show it is paying off.”

Results of the International Visitor Survey from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are available here: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/ivs/ivs-commentary

The data is also available on the new Tourism Dashboard http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/the-new-zealand-tourism-dashboard