A man rides a bicycle at Mission Bay in Auckland, New Zealand, on Sept 19, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

WELLINGTON - Tourism has stepped up to become New Zealand's second-biggest export earner, as it has generated 3.7 percent of the country's gross domestics product, Tourism Minister Matt Doocey said on Thursday.

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The statistics department Stats NZ's Tourism Satellite Account showed how strongly tourism rebounded post-pandemic with total tourism expenditure in New Zealand of 37.7 billion NZ dollars ($23.02 billion) for the year ending March 2023, an increase of 10.7 billion NZ dollars ($6.53 billion) from the previous year.

It showed that overseas visitor expenditure increased by 8.9 billion NZ dollars ($5.43 billion) to 10.8 billion NZ dollars ($6.59 billion), and the total number of people employed in the tourism industry increased by 49.2 percent to 318,000 people

The data shows that after the borders fully reopened, New Zealand began to see a normalizing of tourism flows with a greater mix of international visitors returning in droves along with strong spend increases in hospitality services and visitor experiences, Doocey said.

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The results showed how important international connectivity is to the New Zealand economy, and demonstrated the importance of tourism to main centers and regions, he said.

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It showed that overseas visitor expenditure increased by 8.9 billion NZ dollars ($5.43 billion) to 10.8 billion NZ dollars ($6.59 billion), and the total number of people employed in the tourism industry increased by 49.2 percent to 318,000 people.

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"Most regions rely on tourism and hospitality, which creates jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders," the minister said.