A steady increase in the number of Chinese visitors offset a fall in overall tourist arrivals last month, compared with the spike in arrivals last year for the Rugby World Cup.
The number of short-term arrivals fell 15 per cent to 184,200 in October from the same month in 2011, and was down 0.6 per cent on an annual basis, according to Statistics New Zealand.
The monthly slump was due to the country being flush with visitors for the showcase rugby event in October 2011, with the biggest declines coming from Australian, British and South African visitors.
Asian short-term arrivals were the only region to gain in the month, led by a 44 per cent jump in Chinese visitors to 15,344. Chinese short-term arrivals were up 39 per cent to 53,884 on an annual basis.
New Zealand's tourism has struggled to recover from the global financial crisis in 2008 as rising long-haul travel costs and a resiliently high local currency tarnished the appeal of the South Pacific as a destination.