Arrivals in August were up 4.7% on the same month last year and just over half of the increase could be attributed to Rugby World Cup visitors arriving before the tournament opened.
In the 12 months to August 2011, 2,502,311 international visitors arrived in New Zealand, an overall decrease of just 0.5% compared with the year ending August 2010, Statistics New Zealand figures showed last week.
August arrivals statistics showed Australian visitor numbers were up 5.5% and arrivals from the UK were up 4.1%, compared with August last year.
Malaysia and China continued to show dramatic increases in visitor arrival numbers over the past full year. China was up 18.2% and Malaysia up 48.6%.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said Asian market increases could be attributed the growing interest in New Zealand and increased air capacity.
"We've seen increases from China every month since May 2010. This will no doubt continue to increase, with China Southern Airlines increasing flight frequency from three times per week to daily, commencing later this year."
