Spending by foreign tourists in New Zealand surged by almost 20% in the year ended March, buoyed by rising numbers of visitors from Australia and China, according to figures from New Zealand's government statistics agency.

Spending by international tourists in the year ended March climbed to 14.5 billion NZ dollars (USD 10.39 billion), up by 19.6%, while the number of short-term visitors was up 10.4%, according to Statistics New Zealand.

In the year to the end of March, visitor arrivals hit a record 3.26 million, with Australia and China the two largest source countries. The number of Chinese was up by 82,300 to 377,800 for the year. International tourism expenditure contributed 20.7% to New Zealand's total exports of goods and services.

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