A hot summer for tourism

Spending in Northland and Auckland hit $83.4 million last month. Photo / Chris Gorman

International tourists keen to make the most of New Zealand's stellar summer spent $251 million in the country last month, latest figures show.

Electronic transaction company Paymark, which released spending figures for February yesterday, said the amount was 14.1 per cent higher - $31 million - more than last year's February spend from foreign tourists.

The influx of international visitor spending comes after Statistics New Zealand recorded the highest-ever January total for overseas visitor arrivals.

Businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors also said the Cricket World Cup and the Chinese New Year had been major drawcards for tourists.

"Accommodation bookings have been really strong - the overseas card spend has certainly been helping in that space," Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Bruce Robertson said.

In Auckland and Northland foreign spending rose from $77.8 million in February last year to $83.4 million.

Figures also showed total spending in the accommodation sector was up 15.5 per cent on last February, while the food and beverage sectors were up 12.7 per cent.

The Tourism Industry Association said there had been a growth in spending between 20 and 30 per cent from the Chinese, German and US markets.

"In terms of visitors, it's been a record summer right through December and January," chief executive Chris Roberts said. Teuila Fuatai