Australian recession buster boosts Kiwi tourism

Kiwi tourism operators are sending a big thanks to Kevin Rudd for "stimulating" their winter ski season, and have a suggestion - please do it again.

The recession-beating stimulus package handout had the unusual spin-off effect of also helping Australia's recession-ravaged neighbour out of the financial doldrums.

New Zealand's 2009 winter ski season was the best ever, with 1.5 million sets of skis and snowboards hitting the slopes.

This impressive figure is thanks largely to record numbers of Australians flying over the ditch to sample the snow delights.

"We're all writing to Kevin Rudd to see if he'll do it again next winter," said Lake Wanaka Tourism manager, James Helmore.

It's a big turnaround for New Zealand, which started the season saying Aussie ski numbers were disappointing.

Just over a million Australians either ski or snowboard but only 60,000 to 80,000 were choosing to do it in New Zealand each year.

This year's season, which officially ended on Sunday, is expected to have drawn over 100,000 skiers across the Tasman.

The extra income brought some much-needed relief to New Zealand, which has officially been in recession since early 2008.

The latest treasury report report suggests the economy will start to grow again in early 2010.