NZ guest nights increase to 2.7m in September

WELLINGTON: New Zealand guest nights pushed higher in September, spurred by a lift in both domestic and international tourism numbers.

There were 2.7 million guest nights in hotels, motels, holiday parks and backpackers in September, up 2.9% compared to September 2017, Statistics New Zealand said.

Hotels were the most popular, up 2.2% to 1.1 million. Motels lifted 3% to 917,000. Backpacker hostels and holiday parks also posted rises.

The data does not include private accommodation, which covers bed and breakfasts, holiday homes and Airbnb rentals.

Annual tourism arrivals hit a record 3.8 million in the year to the end of September.

Last week the Government released a draft tourism strategy that largely concentrates on how to cope with an increasing number of tourists. Possible solutions include focusing on higher value tourists, encouraging them to visit lesserknown regions and to travel in offpeak seasons, and investing in emerging and embryonic tourist destinations to help them cope with growth.

Within the regions, Auckland guest nights rose 6.1% to 585,000 while Otago guest nights lifted 3.8% to 439,000. Wellington guest nights lifted 6.6% to 253,000 and Canterbury guest nights rose 2.7% to 371,000.

There were 1.7 million domestic guest nights in September, up 3.8% from a year earlier. International guest nights, at 1 million, were up 1.5%.

The occupancy rate across accommodation types lifted 0.1 of a percentage point in September to 38.6%. Hotel occupancy was the highest while holiday parks were the lowest.

In the year to September 30, there were 40.1 million guest nights in hotels, motels, holiday parks and backpackers — a fresh record and 2.7% more than a year earlier.

‘‘Since guest nights reached 30 million 14 years ago, hotels have led the growth, accounting for more than a third of all guest nights in 2018,’’ accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said. — BusinessDesk