Figures released by Tourism New Zealand have shown that the number of visitors from the UK is growing faster than from any other country.

In September alone, the number of UK visitors was up 16.3 per cent on September 2003 – from 10,470 people to 12,176 this year.

In the year ending September 2003, New Zealand received a total of 254,954 UK visitors, an 11 per cent increase year on year.

Total international visitor numbers topped two million, an increase of 4.8 per cent.

Barry Eddington, Tourism New Zealands’s regional manager for the UK and Europe, said: “These statistics show that New Zealand continues to be a hot destination for the UK and international travellers alike.

“Continued coverage of New Zealand around the third film in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy has further cemented New Zealand’s position.”