Hiking holidays in New Zealand popular with Brits

Britain is now the largest tourism market for New Zealand after Australia.

More Brits are travelling to New Zealand, with hiking holidays and other such active getaways proving to be particularly popular.

The country has seen its reputation as a tourism hotspot grow in recent years, particularly thanks to its fertile lands being showcased in several high-profile films.

According to Tourism New Zealand, the country's official tourism body, there are plenty of reasons for its popularity among Brits.

Greg Anderson, general manager of western long-haul markets at the tourism office, explained that more than 230,000 people from Britain visited the country last year.

"Behind Australia, Britain is our second biggest market for overseas visitors so it is a really popular destination for Brits!" he said.

"In general, I think UK travellers feel safe in New Zealand as it's relatively small, accessible and a really easy country to travel around. There is no language barrier; we have a stable economy and a low crime rate."