NZ guest nights slip from three-year high in June

NZ guest nights slip from three-year high in June, as domestic stays drop

By Suze Metherell

Aug. 21 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand guest nights fell 4.4 percent in June from a three-year high in May, as domestic overnight stays recorded the biggest drop off in 14 months.

Seasonally adjusted guest nights, which strip out seasonal and irregular movements, fell to 2.84 million, from 2.98 million in May and were up from 2.82 million in June last year, according to Statistics New Zealand. Unadjusted guest nights gained 1.1 percent to 1.88 million in June from the same month of 2013.

The underlying trend continued to rise, Statistics New Zealand said, as seasonally adjusted figures showed declines against May and April’s gains.

Domestic guest nights fell 8.1 percent in the month to a seasonally adjusted 1.67 million, the lowest level since December last year, and the biggest decline since a 19.9 percent drop in April 2013. International guest nights slipped 2.3 percent to 1.13 million, the biggest monthly drop in nine-months.

Guest nights across all accommodation types fell, led by a 7.8 percent decline in motels/motor inns/apartments to a seasonally adjusted 875,000. Holiday park stays fell 5.2 percent to 540,000, hotels/resorts dropped 2.8 percent to 1.02 million and backpackers slipped 2.2 percent to 404,000.

The average stay was 3.2 nights in June, down from 4.1 in May, and up from 0.5 the same month the previous year.

Unadjusted guest nights fell across all regions in the year, except in Auckland, Waikato, Otago and Southland. Auckland reported the biggest gain up 7 percent, while Wellington led declines dropping 6.8 percent and Canterbury edged down 0.1 percent from a year earlier.

(BusinessDesk)

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