Balmy weather and an early Easter has helped lift spending in Wairarapa, latest figures reveal.
Paymark figures show nearly $37 million was racked up in electronic spending in the region during March - a 3.2 per cent rise on the corresponding period last year.
Nationally, spending totalled more than $4 billion last month, up 3.1 per cent year-on-year.
Martinborough Top 10 Holiday Park owner Frank Cornelissen said steady visitor numbers during the month had been great for the park.
The previous summer, it had suffered from the poor weather.
"Last year, we got blown away during the March Fair," Mr Cornelissen said.
"This March Fair was very, very good."
The early Easter weekend, which fell during April in the past four years, had made a difference.
"We noticed that the tent campers were back out again, whereas last year we were down quite a lot on tent campers."
Most Easter visitors to the park were from Wellington or overseas, Mr Cornelissen said.
Nationally, accommodation spending in March was up seven per cent compared to last year.
Hostel and Camping grounds recorded a significant 18 per cent jump - which the Holiday Accommodation Parks Association of NZ attributed largely to the extended summer weather.
Chief executive Fergus Brown said holiday parks in Northland and Coromandel boasted capacity numbers at Easter.
Areas such as Martinborough and Rotorua also did well.
Holiday parks were seen as budget-friendly and many now offered a range of accommodation options such as motels and cabins, Mr Brown said.
"They're a great family option, but they're also a good option for young people and for retirees."
While many regional areas enjoyed an Easter holidaymakers' spending splurge, New Zealand's main centres recorded a decline.
Paymark chief executive officer Simon Tong said the trend was consistent with many Kiwis heading to "smaller resort-based" towns for the long weekend.
In the five days ending Easter Monday, spending was down in Auckland/Northland (-14.8 per cent), Wellington (-16.7 per cent) and Canterbury (-8.6 per cent) compared to the same five-day period in March 2012.
"However, when you compare the Easter spending period with the five days of Easter in April 2012, we actually had a much more positive result, with spending up $48 million or 8.8 per cent nationally," Mr Tong said.
Non-trading rules on Good Friday and Easter Sunday contributed to slower spending over the month, he said. APNZ