Rise in domestic tourism

Domestic tourists within New Zealand spent $7.2 billion in the past year -- a 7.5 per cent boost -- the Tourism Ministry has estimated.

Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor welcomed the rise, which was for the year ending September 30, 2006.

"This really is great news for local businesses after a couple of patchy years of growth in domestic spend."

However, he said some of the rise would be due to increased fuel costs being passed on to tourists.

The Tourism Ministry figures are based on a telephone survey of 15,000 New Zealand residents.

- NZPA