Record tourist numbers to NZ

More tourists came to New Zealand this winter, with numbers at a record high of more than 1.7 million for the year.

Visitor arrivals for last month were up 17 per cent, says Statistics New Zealand. The increase coincided with a big boost in the number of Kiwis crossing the Tasman.

Fewer New Zealanders travelled to Fiji in July - down 76 per cent - because of the political crisis and its aftermath.

Seasonally adjusted visitor arrivals increased 3 per cent for the year ended July, reaching a new high of 1.712 million.

The largest increases were from Australia, South Korea, the United States, Britain and China.

The Chinese Government granted New Zealand approved-destination status a year ago, boosting the number of short-term visitors from China to 11,720.

- NZPA