Tourists spending more but not filling beds, moteliers say

International tourists are spending more during their stay in Taranaki than before, latest industry figures show.

Recent monthly regional tourism estimates showed tourism spend for Taranaki totalled $357 million, up 10 per cent, for the past 12 months to September, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said. But New Plymouth accommodation providers say the growth cannot be correlated to show an increase in bed occupancy by visitors.

Hospitality NZ Taranaki accommodation sector chairman Brett Brennen said the increase was ‘‘good news’’ for the region but it was hard to get a gauge on whether the increased spend was being felt by motel owners as there was a trend for many visitors to not stay overnight.

‘‘Sales reps are taking advantage of cheaper flights to fly back home the same day. Anecdotally the feedback in the sector is that visitor numbers are down.’’

Fitzroy Beach Motel owner Deborah Tawa said the sector was not seeing an increase in occupancy rates after last summer.

‘‘There might be an increase in tourist spend but not occupancy because there are more noncommercial beds available through Airbnb and freedom camping.’’

Tawa said the region did not attract large numbers of international tourists. ‘‘It’s fantastic to have the growth increase but I’m not sure how much will filter through to the community.’’

MBIE sector trends manager Mark Gordon said international visitors spent $83 million, or 19 per cent more, and domestic tourists spend $275 million, in same the period.

Tourism spending in September 2017 was 20 per cent more than September 2016, he said.

The estimates measured the value of tourism by region.

‘‘Visitor spending information for the regions helps inform investment and planning in the tourism industry by providing insight into where both domestic and international tourists are spending their money,’’ Gordon said.

The figures are based on card transaction data, and broken down within regions to country of origin, accommodation, transport and retail sales.

Venture Taranaki tourism general manager Vicki Fairley said strong yearly growth reflected the impact of the Lonely Planet review which rated Taranaki the second best region in the world to visit in 2017.

The review helped promote Taranaki to international markets, she said.

‘‘This year we have gained 315 articles about the region in global media, worth an equivalent advertising value of more than $4.6 million.’’

The 2018 Lonely Planet Best in Travel awards rated New Zealand as the world’s fifth best destination.

‘‘Taranaki remains unchallenged as New Zealand’s best ever result, something we will continue to actively promote,’’ she said.

‘‘The challenge is to grow our tourism businesses and connections to the global travel industry to sustain this momentum and Taranaki is clearly the place to be this summer.’’

The Taranaki Chamber of Commerce was delighted with the $357m tourist spend.

‘‘We welcome this news for our members and wider business,’’ chief executive Arun Chaudhari said. ‘‘The fact that the spend is across many sectors beyond just hospitality and tourism providers is heartening, as it means the revenue is spread more widely.’’