Prime Minister John Key says a million Chinese tourists will soon be visiting here annually.
Making his prediction at a ground-breaking ceremony for Auckland's new $200 million Park Hyatt, Key told more than 100 dignitaries in a waterfront marquee how he expected massive growth.
Quipping how he expected to be at the new five-star hotel regularly because he is often at events in hotels, Key said China was New Zealand's second biggest market for tourists after Australia.
![Madam Chan Laiwa (l) with Prime Minister John Key at this morning's ceremony at the site of the new Hyatt Hotel. Photo / Anne Gibson](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/G4DHCVUQXG5LXCNTFPBI6CATRE.jpg?auth=4929e322469245f232d6c134683ddbc3537a42a385e836639b0d8f0ac7bc54ea&width=16&height=8&quality=70&smart=true)
About 371,000 Chinese tourists now visit New Zealand annually.