The 2011 Rugby World Cup was Auckland's gain in terms of tourism spending, while the 2011 earthquake was Christchurch's loss, Government figures confirm.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's latest regional tourism estimates found international and domestic travellers spent $15.1 billion last year, up 5% from 2010.
The regions with the highest increase in tourism expenditure were Dunedin and Timaru, up 11%, followed by Auckland and Waitaki, up 10%, and Waikato, up 9%.
Tourism research and evaluation manager Peter Ellis said tourism spending in Christchurch dropped 10%, to $1.8 billion, led by a 22% fall in international visitor nights.
However, Timaru, Dunedin and Waitaki experienced increases in tourism spending, most likely the result of more domestic flows from Christchurch following the February earthquake, Mr Ellis said.
There were a 105.1 million international and domestic visitor nights in 2011, up 3% from 2010.
Auckland had 24.9 million visitor nights, up 6%, Christchurch had 12.1 million visitor nights, down 7%, and Wellington had 7.3 million visitor nights, up 7%.
Queenstown had 3.9 million visitor nights last year, up slightly from 3.7 million in 2010 and 3.6 million in 2009.
Domestic and international visitors spent $856 million in Queenstown last year.
The sum was up from $842 million in 2010, but down from $870 million in 2009, the highest spend in the 2006 to 2011 snapshot.
