More tourism workers are desperately needed in Otago, as well as throughout the country.

That's the message from the Tourism Industry Association, which predicts rapid growth over the next few years.

It estimates as many as 36,000 additional full time equivalent jobs will need to be filled within the next decade.

And in Otago, there's already demand for more people to work within the tourism industry.

Dunedin's experiencing growth in the cruise ship market, with another bumper season expected.

And new flights linking Dunedin with other parts of the country are expected to bring more visitors to the city.