Visitor numbers up in NZ despite drop in Chinese tourists

Overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand edged up last month to the second-highest September total on record, despite a year-on-year fall in travelers from the second biggest tourist market of China, the government statistics agency announced Tuesday.

Visitor arrivals were up 1 percent from September last year to 193,300, second only to the 219,900 who arrived in September 2011 when New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup, according to Statistics New Zealand.

"More visitors arrived from the United States and Australia in September 2014," population statistics manager Vina Cullum said in a statement.

"However, fewer visitors arrived from China. This may be because numbers in September last year were boosted by the close timing of two Chinese holidays, and people wanting to travel before a new tourism law in China took effect."

Arrivals from China numbered 18,400 last month, the second- highest figure for a September month, after the 21,200 arrivals last year.

A commentary from the agency said last year's September figure might have been boosted by the close timing of China's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday periods as well as people traveling before the introduction of a new Chinese tourism law in October 2013 that affected the type and price of tour packages.

In the year ending September, visitor arrivals numbered 2.8 million, up 5 percent from the September 2013 year, with the biggest increases from New Zealand's biggest tourist market Australia, the United States and Germany.