Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas said the year-on-year growth showed more people were spending their money in the region.
"It is consistent growth which is great and shows that the region is performing particularly well year on year which is what we want to see.
"We've also had a very positive cruise season so that obviously helped with expenditure and the industry is happy which is good."
Their target with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council was 5 per cent, which they had exceeded.
She believed the 2 per cent drop for January was due to the very good weather overall, particularly in Wellington, which meant some people stayed at home rather than visiting the region for sunshine.
"There are no signs at this point that things are slowing off in terms of year-on-year growth. We hope that February is up on last February and so on, so it is an important measure for us."
Napier mayor Bill Dalton said the city is thrilled to hear tourism figures are on the rise.
"However, given the effort that is put in from all sectors to grow visitor numbers, it's not so much a surprise as it is a reward for all the hard work that goes into creatively marketing the region.
"Much of the credit has to go to Hawke's Bay Tourism for the excellent work Annie and the team undertake in attracting visitors to our region," Mr Dalton said.
Meanwhile, Hawke's Bay's signature cycle event, The Big Easy, returns for its sixth year this Easter weekend with its cruisy counterparts, The Little Easy Central Hawke's Bay and The Little Easy Wairoa.
The event offers three days of cycling fun that caters for all skill levels on Hawke's Bay's superb trail network.
Ms Dundas said she was pleased the three days of events continue to grow in popularity.
"We are thrilled The Big Easy and The Little Easy events are back for a sixth year – they continue to attract out-of-towners during a key holiday period."
The Big Easy has been developed to profile the Hawke's Bay Trails.
