Spending by international visitors to New Zealand has increased to a record NZ$6.6 billion (US$4 billion) in the year to March 2006.

Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor said Wednesday the figure was up 8.2 percent on the previous year.

O'Connor said this is the highest recorded spending figure in New Zealand by international visitors and is great news for the industry.

The growth in spending came from the major markets of Australia (up 8.8 percent to US$900 million), the United Kingdom (up 18.5 percent to US$640 million) and the United States (up 5.6 percent to US$104 million).

Major markets that declined are Japan (down 13.1 percent to US$496 308 million), China (down 39.5 percent to US$150 million) and Germany (down 4.9 percent to US$122 million).

O'Connor said the increased spending within key markets was encouraging and likely to be buoyed by the relative affordability of the New Zealand dollar during the period.

The drop in spending from Chinese visitors showed that more research was required into how to get the best out of what is a very exciting new market for New Zealand going forward, said O' Connor.

"Overall, the New Zealand tourism industry is in a healthy state and the record spending figure is testament to that. The challenge for the industry lies in maintaining growth in visitor spend by continuing to position New Zealand as a quality destination," said O'Connor.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2006)