Visitor arrivals numbered 237,900 in July 2016, setting a new July record, Statistics New Zealand said today. Visitor arrivals were up 14 percent from July 2015, due mainly to a 21 percent increase in holiday arrivals.

"More holidaymakers from Australia, China, and the United States boosted the holiday arrival numbers this month," population statistics manager Jo-Anne Skinner said. "This is the first time that holiday visitor arrivals from Australia have exceeded 50,000 in a July month."

In the July 2016 year, visitor arrivals hit a record 3.34 million, up 11 percent from the July 2015 year.