Visitors from China led a surge in overseas arrivals in New Zealand last month, figures from the government statistics agency showed on Monday.

The total number of visitor arrivals for October was up 8 percent year-on-year to 210,600, with the number arriving on holiday up 14 percent to 98,100, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The total number of visitors for October was the second highest for an October month after the 215,900 in October 2011, when New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup.

"More visitors arrived from China, Australia, and the United States in October 2014. These countries were also the main source of an increase in visitors arriving on holiday," population statistics manager Vina Cullum said.

China led the rise with visitor numbers up 6,000 year-on-year to 19,600 in October, the highest number of Chinese arrival for an October month.

The figure for October last year might have been lower because China had introduced a new tourism law in October 2013 that affected the type and price of tour packages, said a Statistics New Zealand commentary.