The organisation's new three-year strategy was presented to about 50 industry professionals in Dunedin yesterday.
TNZ brand and international PR general manager Catherine Bates said the main visitor markets, including Australia, China and Japan, had all grown in the first four months of the year.
That growth followed a slump in the past three years, when visitor spending and the average length of stay decreased.
The rising number of people now visiting New Zealand for holidays, business and specific events was forecast to continue, Ms Bates said.
First priority markets under the new strategy were Australia, China and the United States, she said.
The United Kingdom, Germany and Japan were second, followed by Southeast Asia, France, the rest of Europe, Canada and Korea.
The Government's additional $158 million for tourism over the next four years meant TNZ could spend money on developing the emerging markets of India, Indonesia, Latin America and South America without decreasing its spending on priority markets.
TNZ promotion in coming years will highlight major sporting events to be held in the country, including the Cricket World Cup, Fifa Under-20 World Cup and New Zealand Masters Games. It will also continue to feature aspects of the Hobbit films.
''Film locations around Middlemarch mean there are opportunities for you to leverage there,'' Ms Bates told the Otago tourism operators.
She said there had also been 10 successful bids for major business events to be held in New Zealand.
''We are optimistic about the next few years.''
Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said the regional organisation worked in partnership with TNZ and he encouraged Otago tourism operators to align their marketing and promotion strategies with national initiatives where practical.
