Rugby provides minimal boost to guest nights
September 2011 guest nights were up less than 1% on last year.
September guest nights were up just 0.3% on last year, according to Statistics New Zealand.
Although international visitor guest nights for the month jumped 21%, this increase was almost fully offset by a fall of 12% in domestic guest nights - giving a total rise of just 0.3% on September 2010.
“The Rugby World Cup boosted international guest nights throughout most of the country in September,” said Statistics New Zealand industry and labour statistics manager Ken Smart.
Domestic guest nights were down in nearly every region, a movement Mr Smart attributed to both the World Cup and the shifting of school holidays into October. Southland was the only region to show an increase.
International guest nights were higher in 10 of the 12 regions in September 2011 (compared with September 2010), particularly in Auckland, Wellington, and Waikato. With 25 of the 33 scheduled World Cup games in September being held in the North Island, this half of the country saw a huge 50% rise in international guest nights.
When international and domestic figures are combined, Canterbury continues to show the largest fall. According to Statistics New Zealand figures, the combined increases in Auckland, Wellington, and Waikato were not enough to offset the fall in Canterbury. Christchurch, in particular, lost much accommodation capacity because of the Canterbury earthquakes, and did not host any World Cup games after its main stadium was deemed too damaged.
Charlotte Woodfield
Thu, 10 Nov 2011
Thu, 10 Nov 2011
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Rugby provides minimal boost to guest nights
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