Tourists spent a record $1 billion in the Coastal Bay of Plenty last a target that was not expected to be hit for another 12 years.

According to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment figures, the region's tourism expenditure grew by $53 million over the year ending January 2018, taking it to $1.002 billion and spending by visitors has almost doubled over the last decade from $568 million in 2009.

This places the region as New Zealand's seventh-most-popular tourist destination behind Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, Waikato and Northland.

'It's an amazing achievement for the industry, and reinforces the popularity of the Coastal Bay of Plenty as a growing tourist destination, says Tourism Bay of Plenty Chief Executive Officer Kristin Dunne.

'This growth brings with it many social and economic benefits for the region.

'We are extremely proud that we are attracting tourism on this scale; however, we also need to be mindful of the long-term planning required to ensure that continued growth is sustainable into the future.”

Tourism Bay of Plenty has identified such growth pressures, with its Visitor Economy Strategy 2018-2028 forecasting that the visitor economy will grow by more than 50 per cent by 2028, positioning tourism as one of the largest economic contributors to the region.

In line with projected growth, the organisation is moving towards a Destination Management role, joining a global movement towards sustainable tourism.

'Tourism will continue to grow in the region, and it would be reckless to allow this growth without a considered management plan,” says Kristin.

'This means working closely with local and regional authorities, iwi, communities and industry to ensure we grow tourism on our terms,” she adds.

In order to achieve this, Tourism Bay of Plenty is seeking additional funding in the Tauranga City Council Long Term Plan to raise its current local authority funding to the national benchmark for similar-sized Regional Tourism Organisations.

Taking the right strategic approach is key to controlling tourism's environmental impacts and preserving the region's unique identity, says Kristin.

Regional Tourism New Zealand this week called for local government to 'step up” and start thinking about long-term tourism, labelling current ways of thinking about tourism as 'not fit for purpose”.

RTNZ Executive Officer Charlie Ives says increased growth in tourism will place pressure on the regions, which must be managed before it has a negative effect on their communities.

'Tourism – perhaps more than any other industry – touches the whole community.

'While most New Zealanders are still comfortable with the industry, we are already seeing early indicators of pressure such as overcrowding and negative reactions to freedom campers,” he says.

'These are warnings of the impact tourism can have on us if we don't have a planned, developed and managed approach.”

International visitor spending in the coastal Bay of Plenty in 2017:

Australia - $64 million

United Kingdom - $31 million

US - $23 million

Rest of Europe - $23 million

Germany - $15 million

Rest of Asia - $15 million

Canada - $9 million

South and Central America - $8 million

China - $7 million R

epublic of Korea - $6 million

Africa and the Middle East - $5 million

Rest of Oceania - $5 million

Japan - $3 million