NZ guest nights rise for fifth consecutive month in November

Friday 16th January 2015

New Zealand guest nights rose for a fifth month in November, with the inaugural Queenstown International Marathon boosting visitors to the Otago region.

Seasonally adjusted national guest nights rose 0.9 percent to 2.95 million in November from the previous month, accelerating from October's 0.6 percent gain, according to Statistics New Zealand. South Island guest nights rose 1.5 percent in the month to a seasonally adjusted 1.2 million, and were up 8.1 percent on an unadjusted basis from the same month a year earlier. North Island guest nights rose 0.6 percent in the month to a seasonally adjusted 1.76 million, while on an unadjusted basis gained 4.5 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Across the regions, Otago guest nights climbed 14.5 percent in November from the same month a year earlier to 420,000 stays, as runners for the first Queenstown marathon lifted accommodation numbers, Statistics NZ said. Northland was the biggest gainer, rising 15 percent to 133,000 stays, while Auckland remained the most popular destination, rising 4.1 percent in November from a year earlier, to 641,000 guest nights. Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui was the only region to record a decline, falling 4.3 percent in November from a year earlier, to 136,000 stays.

On an unadjusted basis, total guest nights rose 5.9 percent to 2.97 million in November, from the same month the previous year, its eighth monthly gain on that measure.

Today's data shows total capacity in short-term accommodation fell 0.5 percent in November from a year earlier, while occupancy rates improved to 43 percent from 40.7 percent in November 2013. Hotels/resorts showed the biggest improvement in occupancy, up 6.5 percent, followed by holiday parks up 6.2 percent. Motels gained 3.9 percent and backpackers improved 3.7 percent.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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