WELLINGTON, April 19 -- Chinese visitors to New Zealand will soon find travel easier with a raft of new visa initiatives, Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said Tuesday.

The introduction of "e-visas" enabled Chinese nationals to now apply online, and a Chinese logon service, allowing a complete online Chinese language application process, from registration to approval, said Woodhouse.

Later this year applicants would also be able to pay for online visa applications using China UnionPay debit and credit cards.

"China is New Zealand's second-largest and fastest growing tourist market," Woodhouse said in a statement.

"Last year, over 355,000 Chinese citizens visited New Zealand and contributed over 1.6 billion NZ dollars (1.12 billion U.S. dollars) to our economy," said Woodhouse.

"The government has been looking at ways to make it easier for Chinese travellers to visit New Zealand and ensure they have a positive experience when they come to our country," he said.

"These measures deliver on that by providing an easy, streamlined visa application and approval process for Chinese nationals."

Other changes already in place to make travel to New Zealand easier for Chinese visitors included doubling the length of the multiple-entry visa to two years and introducing a three-year multiple entry business visa.