Tourism spend for Auckland region up 9pc

International and domestic visitor spending for the Auckland region exceeded $6 billion. Photo / NZME

Auckland's tourism spend is estimated to be $6.6 billion for the year ending April, up nine per cent from the year earlier.

New data released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows international visitors to the Auckland region spent $3.4 billion, while domestic tourists spent $3.2 billion.

International visitor expenditure was up nine per cent for the year ending April 2016, with the domestic tourist spend up eight per cent.

MBIE manager of sector trends Peter Ellis said the new Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates data on spending enables the industry to plan ahead.

"Better tourism expenditure information for the regions will help inform investment and planning in the tourism industry by providing further insights into where both domestic and international tourists are spending their money, and what their expenditure is on," Ellis said.

Associate tourism minister Paula Bennett said the new tourism data supports regional growth.

"This new data provides an estimated dollar figure for how much international and domestic tourists are spending in each region, which is vital to help inform planning and investment for the tourism industry," Bennett said.

The first data set released in this series estimates tourism spend which can be allocated to regions to be $2 billion for April 2016.

Overall international visitors contributed $740 million (up 10 per cent) and domestic tourists contributed $1.2 billion (up 1 per cent).

"Tourism adds significant value to the New Zealand economy, and the Government is working to ensure that all regions are benefiting," Bennett said. .