New Zealand sees rebound in Chinese mainland visitors

The number of Chinese mainland visitors to New Zealand rose for only the second time in six months in March as the market showed signs of rebounding from a law change that raised the cost of overseas tours, according to figures from the New Zealand government statistics agency Wednesday.

The number of Chinese mainland visitors was up by 2,464 from March last year to 23,200, maintaining China's place as New Zealand's second-largest tourist market after Australia, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The only other increase in Chinese mainland visitors in the last six months was in January, due to the earlier timing of the Chinese New Year.

Chinese visitor numbers have been mostly down since October last year, when China's Travel Law, requiring travel sellers in China to offer better quality, and therefore more expensive for group tour packages, was implemented.

In the year ending March, total visitor arrivals numbered 2.75 million, up 5 percent from the March 2013 year, with Germany moving ahead of Japan to become New Zealand's fifth biggest tourist market.