Rugby World Cup fans have helped boost the Otago economy and the region recorded the fourth-highest increase in spending last week.
Figures released by eftpos provider Paymark show total spending, excluding fuel, increased 6.7% for the week ending September 25, when compared with the corresponding period last year.
During that week, $39,701,000 was spent on 871,000 transactions compared with the total of $37,191,000 and 802,000 transactions over the corresponding week last year.
Wanganui led the country with a 7.5% increase, followed by Southland (7.2%) and South Canterbury (6.8%).
Canterbury recorded the biggest decline, of 5.5%.
Throughout the country spending was up 2.7% to $729,657,000, with transactions up 5.1% to 15,379.
While that increase was small when compared with the opening weeks of the tournament, it was being compared with the week before GST was increased last year, which prompted a high spend.
An indicator of the spending habits of the thousands of rugby fans in the country is the 37% increase in foreign card spending, with $39.5 million spent last week.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said the Paymark data showed the large influx of foreign visitors was a "significant positive for Otago as a region".
While the hospitality and accommodation sectors were enjoying the increased spending, the benefits of the tournament were less clear for some sectors and communities.
Mr Christie said spending was likely to drop off in the region, with the last game at Otago Stadium to be played on Sunday.