Holiday arrivals for the first six months of the year are up across Tourism New Zealand's top six markets: China at 30.9%, United States 20.7%, Japan 7.8%, Australia 6%, United Kingdom 3.3% and Germany 2.9%.
''It is encouraging to see this growth from our traditional long-haul markets after what has been a difficult few years for the industry,'' Tourism New Zealand chief executive Justin Watson said.
The increase in arrivals from the US, up 3.6% year-on-year, saw it overtake the UK for the first time, to become New Zealand's third-largest source of visitors.
''The underlying growth from the long-haul markets further supports the positive impact seen from the investment in marketing New Zealand's association with The Hobbit trilogy,'' Mr Watson said.
''Our 100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand campaign continues to achieve its objectives - providing ... motivation and reason to convert interest in a holiday to New Zealand into an actual booking.''
