Tourists visiting Otago are flashing their cash, according to new government figures.
The region has been named as one of the top performers in terms of tourism spending.
New monthly regional tourism estimates released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment show the annual spend is up 10% at $3.6billion.
A monthly report, comparing April and May this year, ranks the region's jewel, Queenstown, as one of the top achievers, with the second-highest level of growth at 13%, pipped only by Kawerau-Whakatane, at 14%.
Ngai Tahu Tourism southern regional manager David Kennedy said the figures were good news for the resort and he was not surprised by the jump. He said Ngai Tahu, which operates Shotover Jet, one of the town's popular tourist attractions, had seen an increase in demand.
"This shows the continuation of a strong shoulder [season]. Demand for the summer season continued into April and May and I think most tourist operators saw that as well.''
There was general agreement the shoulder season was narrowing, in part because of a shortage of hotel beds during peak times, meaning visitors were booking out of season, Mr Kennedy said.
"This was one of the strongest tourism seasons in Queenstown's history.''
Gisborne, Tasman, Auckland and Taranaki were named alongside Otago as star performers. Of the $3.2billion spent in Otago, international visitors spent $1.7billion (up 14%), and domestic tourists spent $1.5million (up 6%).
In a media statement MBIE manager of sector trends Peter Ellis said the data series provided quality and detailed information on regional spending.
"Better tourism expenditure information for the regions will help inform investment and planning in the tourism industry by providing further insights into where both domestic and international tourists are spending their money, and what their expenditure is on.''
Users would be able to filter the information to get the data they needed, including a breakdown of detail such as country of origin, accommodation, passenger transport and retail sales, he said.
Regions showing decline included the West Coast (down 2%), Southland (2%), Northland (3%), Marlborough (6%) and Hawke's Bay (8%).
