NZ March guest nights dip as tourists stay away

New Zealand guest nights at holiday parks, hotels and backpackers fell in March as foreign visitor numbers dwindled.

Hannah Lynch
Thu, 10 May 2012

BUSINESSDESK: New Zealand guest nights at holiday parks, hotels and backpackers fell in March as foreign visitor numbers dwindled.

Total guest nights fell 0.8% to 3.1 million in March from the same month a year ago, says Statistics New Zealand.

The bulk of the decline came from a 3.6% drop in international visitor guest nights to 1.3m, with a sharper fall in South Island accommodation.

That was offset by a 1.4% gain in guest nights from New Zealanders to 1.8m.

The figures come after the Ministry of Tourism data showed 2.62m foreign visitors spent $5.64 billion locally in the year ended March 31.

However, a rising number of Australians failed to make up the shortfall of fewer Korean and Japanese visitors who typically spend more.

International guest nights decreased in eight of the country's 12 regions in last month, led by Northland, down 25% and Otago, which fell 8%.

The highest number of international guest nights was in Auckland, up 6%.

Domestic guest nights also increased in six regions. Bay of Plenty led the fall, down 6.6%, followed by Northland on 13%.

Auckland had the largest rise of about 7%.

Nationally, three of the four accommodation types had fewer guest nights.

Holiday parks bore the brunt, down 5.6%, followed by backpacker accommodation, which slipped 2.7%, and motels, with a dip of 2.1%.

Hotels bucked the trend with an increase of 4.4% in March guest nights.

Hannah Lynch
Thu, 10 May 2012