Record numbers of overseas visitors -- driven by the Chinese New Year holiday -- gave New Zealand's accommodation sector its busiest ever month in January, the government statistics agency said Thursday.
National guest nights were up 6.1 percent on January 2015, according to Statistics New Zealand.
"Guest nights for January 2016 are the highest in the 20-year history of the survey," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.
"International guest nights, especially in the South Island, contributed to most of this rise."
Domestic guest nights were up 3.1 percent year on year in January and international guest nights were up 11 percent.
For the year ended January, national guest nights were up 5 percent year on year.
Monthly visitor arrivals numbered a record 343,400 in January, up 14 percent from January last year, Statistics New Zealand said last month.
Visitor arrivals from China rose in the lead-up to the Chinese New Year, which occurred in early February this year, leading to a 59-percent increase in arrivals from China compared with January 2015.
