NZ guest nights flat in August as foreign stays taper off

Friday 10th October 2014

New Zealand guest nights were largely flat in August from a month earlier as a gain from domestic travellers was offset by a drop in foreign stays.

Seasonally adjusted guest nights were almost unchanged at 2.87 million in August from July, according to Statistics New Zealand. Of that, domestic guest nights rose 0.4 percent to 1.74 million in the month and international guest nights fell 2.3 percent to 1.12 million. On an unadjusted basis, guest nights were up 3.3 percent to 2.21 million in August from the same month a year earlier.

Last month, government figures showed international visitor arrivals fell 1 percent to 188,000 in August from the same month a year earlier, with the later Ramadan holidays reducing the number of visitors from Muslim nations such as Indonesia.

Today's data shows total capacity in short-term accommodation was unchanged in August from a year earlier, while occupancy rates improved to 32.3 percent from 31.2 percent in August 2013. Hotels showed the biggest improvement in occupancy, up 2.5 percentage points, with motels up 0.2 of a percentage point, backpackers improving 0.7 percentage points, and holiday parks 0.9 percentage points.

Guest nights in the North Island rose a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent to 1.74 million in the month, and were up 4.4 percent to 1.33 million from a year earlier on an unadjusted basis. South Island guest nights fell 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.12 million in August, and on an unadjusted basis were up 1.8 percent to 876,000 from the same month a year earlier.

The average length of stay was 2.1 nights, unchanged from a month earlier.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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