A record number of Chinese visitors helped boost guest nights in the New Zealand accommodation sector in October, according to official figures out Thursday.
National guest nights for October were up 2.9 percent year on year, said the government's Statistics New Zealand agency.
"Most of the rise in October was due to international guest nights in the South Island, supported by domestic guest nights in the North Island," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.
Domestic guest nights were up 2.1 percent and international guest nights were up 4.3 percent.
For the year ended October, national guest nights were up 4.9 percent from the October last year.
China provided the biggest increase in overseas visitor numbers in October, according to figures from the agency last month.
The number of Chinese travelers was up 38 percent year on year to 27,000, a record for an October month.
