Overseas visitor numbers hit record levels

A record 2.04 million international visitors arrived last year, 7 per cent more than travelled here during the 12 months to the end of 2001.

Last December was also a record month for arrivals, Statistics New Zealand said yesterday. The monthly total of 265,700 smashed the previous record of 243,000, recorded in December 2000.

Provisional estimates from the World Tourism Organisation suggest international tourism grew by 3 per cent last year.

Tourism New Zealand said this country's 7.1 per cent growth rate showed this country had bucked the international trend.

New Zealand's biggest tourist markets are Australia (632,000 arrivals during 2002), Britain (237,000), the United States (205,000), Japan (173,000) and Korea (110,000).