The number of Chinese visitors taking long-stay holidays in New Zealand has almost doubled in the year to the end of June, the government's Tourism New Zealand agency announced Tuesday.

About 23,000 longer stay group tour visitors came to New Zealand as their sole destination, while almost 40,000 independent Chinese travelers arrived, said a statement from Tourism New Zealand.

This compared with 15,000 New Zealand only group tourists and 21,000 independent visitors from China in the corresponding period ending June 2012.

The statement did not define "longer stay," but it said longer stay visitors comprised more than 25 percent of total visitors from China, up from 20 percent the previous year.

Meanwhile the number of short-stay Chinese visitors who combined their New Zealand holiday with an Australia trip now comprised 48 percent of Chinese visitors, down from 52 percent the previous year.

"This is an encouraging result and reflects an increasing maturity in the Chinese outbound tourism market," Tony Everitt, Asia market general manager for Tourism New Zealand, said in the statement.

He said the organization would build on the results achieved by the Premier Kiwi Partnership program launched earlier this year to encourage Chinese tour companies to promote New Zealand as a sole destination.

Around 220,000 Chinese visited New Zealand in the 12-month period, making China New Zealand's second largest tourism market.