Tourists are flocking to Christchurch in record numbers and spending up large while they're here.

Christchurch Airport figures show international visitor arrivals up 11 percent from last year, at almost 206,000.

Over summer, tourists injected more than three and a half million dollars into the region's economy, with February tourism up 20 percent in January.

ChristchurchNZ Industry partnerships manager Caroline Blanchfield says it's really good to see tourists coming in droves.

"After such a long time of really working hard with the airport company and Tourism NZ to really reposition Christchurch, it's good to see those numbers start to take a positive turn."

Blanchfield says MBIE figures show tourists spent $416 million in the region, second only to Auckland.

Blanchfield says it means a lot for the city.

"When the cities filled up with visitors, the retailers, the hospitality, the whole city has a great vibe about it. It's really regenerating that CBD area because that's where a lot of the visitors go to."