The Year of the Monkey will begin with a rush in Queenstown next month as the Chinese New Year holiday coincides with the resort's busiest month for the second consecutive year.
Several thousand Chinese visitors are expected to arrive in the resort during the holiday from February 7 to 13.
Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd said the resort was probably the "must-do destination'' on the itineraries of tourists from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
"Chinese New Year falls right on top of Waitangi Day and the peak time for all international visitors.
"Although there's a lot of talk about Chinese New Year, it's just a layer on top of what is already a busy time.''
Chinese airlines already flying into Auckland and Christchurch had increased their capacity from last summer, while other airlines were offering services for the first time, Mr Budd said.
Queenstown Airport acting chief executive Mike Clay said the Chinese New Year boost was a growing phenomenon, but not yet as busy as the airport's mid-summer and winter peaks.
Figures for the number of Chinese passengers arriving via domestic flights from Auckland and Christchurch were not available but the growth in international flights was astonishing - up from 580 in February 2013 to 2390 last February.
"It's almost doubling every year.''
NZONE Skydive spokesman Derek Melnick said China was now its biggest market, having overtaken Australia a few months ago.
The company was enjoying the fruits of five years of direct marketing in China, with "triple-digit'' growth in the past two years.
The Queenstown wedding of Chinese actress and social media darling Yao Chen in 2012 had been a catalyst for couples from that country to skydive with the company and "pop the question''.
NZONE had responded by employing more Chinese staff, Mr Melnick said.
"We started with one. Now we have five full-timers across all facets of the business.''
Real Journeys operations director Paul Norris said it had added extra dates for activities during the Chinese New Year holiday to cope with a spike in bookings.
"We always have to cater for a week either side of Chinese New Year, especially with Walter Peak farm tours, Milford Sound cruises and the Te Anau glow-worm caves.''
It was similar to the Christmas-New Year rush, he said.
Tourism Industry Association hotel sector regional chairwoman Penny Clark said Queenstown hotels had been "frantically busy'' all summer, so the influx of Chinese holidaymakers would not have a major impact on the sector.
"It's just more of the same because there are only so many rooms.''
The resort's accommodation capacity had not grown in the past 12 months, which meant independent Chinese travellers who had left their bookings too late would miss out.
But visitors who contacted hotels directly, rather than looking online, would still find rooms, she said.
