Sunny weather and the return of tourists hasn't equalled a bigger spend on hospitality this summer

Worldline NZ data shows people spent just over one-billion-dollars through hospitality merchants in January.

That's down 1.4 percent on 2023's figure, even with the disruption the sector faced though extreme weather events.

Chief Sales Officer, Bruce Proffit says this is surprising, given the hike in overseas visitors.

He says it's hard to explain why, and hospitality merchants will be disappointed with the January figures.