"The number of visitors from China has increased by 37 per cent in the last year alone, and just as importantly, the amount they spend while here has also risen by 37 per cent."
Chinese spending was still less than a third of New Zealand's largest tourist market Australia, which spent $1.7 billion in the year.
Statistics New Zealand released figures last month showing China had overtaken the US as New Zealand's third largest visitor source in the September year, up to 187,000.
This comes behind the 1.17 million Australians and 198,000 visitors from the UK.
Ellis said Chinese visitors tended to take shorter trips to New Zealand than other visitors, and they tended to focus on Auckland and Rotorua.
On average, Chinese tourists spend 16.6 days and $3,300 in New Zealand.
The MBIE was working with the tourism industry on a China Market Review, he said.
"The aim is to identify actions to improve the quality of experiences for Chinese visitors and maximise the potential of this surge in tourism."
The Visitor Survey showed the total visitor spend - including all countries - fell by two per cent in the year, despite arrivals numbers increasing two per cent.
The drop was largely due to a change in the visitor mix, with visits to friends and family increasing from 33 to 35 per cent of the total, the MBIE said in a statement.
People who stay with friends and family typically spend less money while here.
The International Visitor Survey is based on interviews of 5,200 tourists per year departing from New Zealand airports.
