Tourists to NZ underpin gains in December accommodation numbers

Thursday 11th February 2010

International visitors underpinned gains in New Zealand accommodation this summer as the global recovery gave people an appetite for overseas holidays again.

Tourists contributed to some 1.45 million guest nights in December, that’s 6.6% more than the same month a year earlier, and a 14% gain from November, according to Statistics New Zealand’s accommodation survey. At 341,300, December enjoyed the biggest number of inbound short-term arrivals ever recorded.

A surge in Australian visitors kept New Zealand’s tourism industry active in 2009 as the government and Air New Zealand spent a combined $5 million in a joint marketing venture to lure tourists across the Tasman.

This was aided by a relatively stable exchange rate, with the kiwi dollar falling 2.1% to 80.67 Australian cents through the year, even as it surged against the greenback. The currency was recently at 79.17 cents. Total guest nights in December rose 4.4% to 3.24 million from a year earlier, and were up 22% from November as people entered the holiday season.

Hotels were the main beneficiary as guest nights rose a seasonally adjusted 7.6% to 931,000 from 2008, and were up 9.4% from November. Motels and motor inns gained a seasonally adjusted 2.1% to 875,000 from the same month a year earlier, and advanced 2.7% from the month before.

Demand for budget accommodation improved from 2008, with backpacker guest nights rising a seasonally adjusted 5.5% to 400,000 while holiday parks increased 3% to 550,000 nights.

Tourism and travel enjoyed a better 2009 than expected, according to Bank of New Zealand’s survey of 20,000 Weekly Overview readers, though the responses were still cautious due to international economic fragility.

Businesswire.co.nz

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