Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce Wayne Walford said confidence was up across all sectors of the Hawke's Bay economy thanks to continued growth.
He said events showcasing Hawke's Bay were well subscribed and accommodation providers were "making hay".
The national Paymark increase for February was just 2.2 per cent above February 2016 with March last year having an extra day.
Paymark spokesman Paul Brislen said any part of New Zealand on the tourist radar was experiencing growth.
Between November 2016 and February 2017 underlying growth of foreign-issued cards was higher (6.5 per cent) than payments with all cards (5.5 per cent).
Foreign-issued card spending growth in the accommodation sector nationally was about one-third of spending and spending growth.
"Likewise international tourism made a strong contribution to transport merchants such as rental vehicle companies, taxis and airport service providers, and to education merchants," Paymark's February report said.
Food and liquor merchants were not as heavily dependent on international tourism spending but recent growth amongst cafes and bars was partly attributable to more spending with foreign-issued credit cards.
"However, there are merchants that typically cater to international tourists that are experiencing low spending growth in total at present.
"A merchant grouping of those selling retail goods, such as gift shops and duty-free outlets, has seen increased total spending through Paymark of only 0.6 per cent in 12 months. Likewise, a grouping of merchants providing services to the tourism sector, such as tourist activity operators and museums, shows annual spending growth of only 0.9 per cent.
"Both groupings have experienced lower foreign-issued card payments during the summer months. It is not known whether this decline reflects an underlying spending trend or a change in payment mechanism for these goods and services by international tourists."
Paymark processes about 75 per cent of all electronic transactions.
