Tourism earnings have soared to edge out dairy as New Zealand's top export earner for the first time since 2010.
Spending by international tourists grew by almost 20 per cent on the previous year while domestic tourism spending grew by 7.4 per cent giving the sector a $3.8 billion increase on last year.
Statistics New Zealand national accounts senior manager Daniel Griffiths said a strong growth in overseas visitors along with a buoyant domestic market contributed to the growth.
"Increasing visitor numbers from across key international markets, on the back of expanding airline and cruise capacity, drove the increase in spending by international tourists," Griffiths said.
By comparison, dairy earned New Zealand $12.3b in the same period.