Te Anau restaurant owner Ocean Chan is looking forward to the week after next.
It is Chinese New Year, when Chinese visitors will flock to Te Anau and spend up large on special dishes.
Like Christmas for Kiwis, Chinese New Year was a time to splurge on delicacies.
"They order crayfish, oysters, whitebait. They go nuts.''
Mr Chan runs two restaurants in Te Anau - one of which he only took over a few months ago - and another in Queenstown.
One of the most popular dishes was crayfish tail meat, sliced thinly and served raw like sashimi, he said.
He was ordering in extra local crayfish to cater to the demand.
Chinese New Year falls between mid-January and mid-February.
This year is the Year of the Monkey and begins on February 8.
There is a three-day public holiday in China, with many people taking extra time off to visit family or to travel.
New Zealand was an increasingly popular New Year holiday destination, and in recent years, Te Anau had seen more Chinese tour parties and independent travellers, Venture Southland tourism team leader Warrick Low said.
Many included Te Anau on a "wilderness experience''.
"They do Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound, Tekapo for the stars, and Mt Cook. They are looking for epic beauty and remoteness.''
Mr Chan said Chinese New Year dining in Te Anau lasted several days.
"We are usually packed on [the night] and for a few days afterwards. It is our busiest time of year.''
With February Te Anau's busiest month for visitors anyway, the arrival of Chinese visitors for the New Year holiday created a "pressure point'' for accommodation, Destination Fiordland tourism manager Philippa Murrell said.
Most, if not all, of the 4000 beds available at hotels, motels and holiday parks in Te Anau, Manapouri and Milford Sound were full, she said.
Distinction Hotels has two hotels and 300 beds in Te Anau.
Both were fully booked during Chinese New Year and for most of February, Distinction Te Anau Hotel and Villas general manager Brent Stander said.
"Asian tourism is always up around Chinese New Year but we have lots of other visitors too. Milford Sound is still a big drawcard.''
More tourists were staying two nights rather than one, which was good for the town, he said.
Lakeview Motel owner Grant Taylor said he first noticed visitors coming for Chinese New Year about five years ago.
"Now about 60% of our bookings [at Chinese New Year] are Chinese travellers.''
Mr Low said more Chinese tourists were expected over the next few years, because more Chinese had money to travel and flights were cheaper and more frequent.
Last month, China Southern Airlines began direct flights between Guangzhou and Christchurch, expected to bring 70,000 visitors here annually.
