Tourism expenditure grew in all regions over the year ending May 2018, according to a new report.

The latest monthly regional tourism estimates, released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) show that the region with the fastest growing tourism spend was Gisborne – up 14 per cent to $155 million.

The Tasman and Canterbury regions, both up 13 per cent, drew $329 million and $3.8 billion respectively.

MBIE’s manager of sector trends Mark Gordon said “all regions in New Zealand experienced strong growth in tourism spending over the year, with international spending growing faster than domestic.”

“Kaikoura has also shown further signs of recovery, with year ended May 2018 spending up 81 per cent compared to [previous year].

“Improved tourism spending for the regions helps the tourism industry plan strategically by providing insight into where both domestic and international tourists are spending their money.

“We encourage the industry to use the information in their planning so we can continue to provide visitors to New Zealand with high-quality experiences.”

UK and Chinese tourism spending showed strong growth.

UK spend was up 28 per cent, while Chinese spending was up 16 per cent, in Auckland.

Canterbury attracted a 25 per cent growth in UK spending, with Chinese spending growing up 16 per cent.

Chinese spending in Otago grew by 14 per cent, while UK spending jumped 28 per cent.