A tourism operator in the South Island is calling for an increase in high-end hotels to meet tourism demands.

Tourism New Zealand reported an all-time high in arrivals and spending last year.

Southern Discoveries general manager John Robson says tourists are leaving major cities in favour of small towns due to limited high-end accommodation in places like Auckland and Queenstown.

He says while small town are reaping the benefits of tourists skipping the cities, there needs to be a better spread of accommodation - because there are sophisticated travellers who want more than cheap and cheerful accommodation and they're willing to pay for it.

Mr Robson says tourism numbers are high now, but back when the infrastructure should have been put in place to meet this, people weren't building hotels due to the global financial crisis.

He says it takes a few years to get a hotel established, but tourism has only recently started to go from strength-to-strength, and the infrastructure is lagging behind.