NZ holiday parks lead gains in accommodation, domestic tourist numbers rise

Aug. 11 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand’s holiday parks led gains in June accommodation as more locals travelled around the country.

Total guest nights rose 7% to 1.7 million in June, compared to the same month a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand, with a 9% increase from domestic tourists and a 4% rise from international visitors. The occupancy rate rose to 26.9% in June from 25.4% a year earlier, and the average stay was steady at 1.9 days.

“The trend had been increasing since December 2008, but appears to have decreased in recent months,” the department report said.

Guest nights at holiday parks jumped 13% to 534,000 in June, while hotels climbed 3.2% to 948,000. Motel visits were down 0.3% to 828,000, while backpacker nights dropped 0.8% to 362,000.

Some 1.1 million New Zealanders stayed in a hotel, motel, backpackers or holiday parks in June, with 10 of the 12 provinces reporting gains in the number of people travelling. Only West Coast and Nelson residents had fewer nights away from home and fewer visitors in the period. Bay of Plenty reported the biggest increase in the number of guest nights.

(BusinessDesk)

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