Cricket World Cup gives unseasonal boost to guest nights in March
North Island guest nights rose 6.7% to an unadjusted two million in March from the previous comparable period.
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New Zealand guest nights rose at a slower monthly pace, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in March as an increase in domestic overnight stays offset a fall in international guests taking accommodation.
However, the combination of Cricket World Cup games and the timing of school holidays saw a big jump in both domestic and international guest nights on an unadjusted basis, compared to the same month a year earlier.
Seasonally adjusted national guest nights rose 0.4% in March, slowing from February's 2.4% climb, according to Statistics New Zealand. Domestic guest nights increased 0.9% in March, offsetting a decline in international stays of 0.5%. (See graph below)
On an unadjusted basis national guest nights climbed 7.5% to 3.55 million guest nights in March from the same month a year earlier, marking the 12th consecutive month of gains, with international guest nights up 11% to 1.2 million, while domestic guest nights rose 5.1% to 1.9 million.
"March was a good month for all regions and for both international and domestic guest nights," business indicators manager Neil Kelly said. "Visitor numbers were boosted by the Cricket World Cup, and the timing of holiday periods."
North Island guest nights rose 6.7% to an unadjusted two million in March from the previous comparable period, while South Island sales increased 8.7% to 1.5 million. Across the regions all recorded an increase in guest nights. The West Coast was the biggest gainer with guest nights jumping 14% to 151,000. Auckland was the largest source of guest accommodation, with overnight stays rising 5.7% to 676,000 while Wellington stays increased 3.5% to 274,000.
All four accommodation nights recorded increased stays. Hotels rose 6.7% to 1.2 million guest nights and there was an 8.8% increase in motel stays to 1.2 million. Backpackers rose 3.9% to 519,000 while holiday parks increased 9.6% to 671,000.
Today's data shows total capacity in short-term accommodation fell 0.7% in March from a year earlier, while occupancy rates improved to 49% from 45% in March 2014.
(BusinessDesk)
Suze Metherell
Tue, 12 May 2015
Tue, 12 May 2015
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
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Cricket World Cup gives unseasonal boost to guest nights in March
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