"Those are actually very much in line with the reports we have got for the last year, so it's not a one-time spike, both of those markets have been strong for a while.
"The strong uplift in both national and international spending is really down to the work Tourism New Zealand is doing at a national level to get visitors travelling outside of the main cities and also to Hawke's Bay Tourism who actively promote the region both nationally and internationally.
"While Hawke's Bay has always been known as a destination to visit for wineries and Art Deco it is now being known for a wider range of activities and products and it certainly helps that we have a great events schedule throughout the year which continues to draw people to the region.
"Napier specifically is experiencing a time of renewed business confidence, record high occupancy [and] award-winning hospitality.
"And with fabulously developed family-friendly areas such as the Marine Pde reef garden it really appeals to a vast variety of people, both locals and visitors who are looking for a fun, buzzy place to hang out for a day.
"The Napier CBD experience has definitely been on the rise for the last year or so and with many more plans for development over the next year or so it will only continue to go from strength to strength."
For the last three months of 2017 spending was up 5.9 per cent on the same period the year before, compared with a national average of 5.1 per cent.
The fastest-growing sector was food and beverage, which experienced an increase in spending of 11.1 per cent.
A total of $234,576,434 was spent in Napier in the December quarter, a 5.9 per cent increase on the same quarter in 2016.
Local spending also rose, with $143.47m spent by cardholders from Napier, up 5.3 per cent from last year.
Meanwhile, Turley and Co's latest retail occupancy survey reported Hawke's Bay mainstreet occupancy at all main retails spots in Hawke's Bay were at more than 90 per cent.
Napier mayor Bill Dalton said the council worked constantly to improve Napier's CBD.
"We will always try to make the city a better place and attract people into the CBD, and that's people from Napier, Hastings or anywhere else, so we're certainly not targeting Hastings people - we just want Napier to become better and better, and I'm sure it is."
Laura Wilson from Cappadonna Cafe said there had been a definite increase in people coming to Napier's CBD.
"Through this season over Christmas and New Year and the cruise ships have been coming in, so we've just had an influx of people in general. We've well exceeded what we have been doing over the last two months, we've really been getting smashed at the weekends."
