The Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon has drawn considerable interest this year, with spots in the marathon, half-marathon and 10km races sold out.
Organisers said 14% of entries had come from overseas this year, with Australia (713), China (200) and USA (122) the dominant contributing nations.
"Our vision for this event was always for it to be very attractive to inbound visitors, travellers looking for an iconic bucket list type event to act as a catalyst for visiting New Zealand," event chief executive Dave Beeche said.
"The numbers already back us up in those thoughts, with an incredible 1300 packing their running shoes and boarding planes from 39 countries around the world to enjoy some of the best that New Zealand has to offer."
Mr Beeche said the increased numbers from China were of particular interest, with the potential for growth from that market huge.
Chinese participants will be followed by a Chinese television crew as they film an adventure documentary on New Zealand and the events and activities on offer, with the marathon and the central Otago region showcased to a huge audience.
The influx of visitors would be a boon for the local and national economy, with many participants making the most of their trip to New Zealand by adding on extended holidays around the event, he said.
