The number of tourists visiting New Zealand is plummeting.

International arrivals in May were down 14% on last year.

Auckland, the country's biggest city, fared worst of all. There were 34,000 less room nights recorded for international visitors in May, a decline of 8.20%. Statistics New Zealand collates information from hotels, motels, backpackers and camping grounds.

Domestic tourism for Auckland also slumped as the New Zealand economy reels from a recession. In May local visitor numbers declined by 3%.

"Figures out of China, Japan and Korea have been down and those markets are pretty key feeders into Auckland," Tourism Auckland chief executive Graeme Osborne said Friday.

Only visitors from Australia improved, however most of these were going to the ski fields, Osborne said, and not to the cities.