Early Easter boosts guest nights

Early Easter boosts guest nights
11 May 2016

National guest nights for March 2016 were 12.3 percent higher than in March 2015, Statistics New Zealand said today.

"Guest nights for March were boosted by an early Easter and increased visitor arrivals, and are the highest recorded for any March month," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said. "Easter this year was in March, whereas last year it was in April. Guest nights have been rising for the last two years."

For March 2016, compared with March 2015:

• North Island guest nights were up 10.4 percent, and South Island guest nights were up 14.8 percent.

• Domestic guest nights were up 11.5 percent, and international guest nights were up 13.2 percent.

• All 12 regional areas had more guest nights.

• All four accommodation types, particularly holiday parks, had more guest nights.

For the year ended March 2016, national guest nights were up 5.7 percent from the March 2015 year.

The trend for national guest nights continued to rise in March. Seasonally adjusted guest nights rose 5.0 percent, following a 2.1 percent rise in February.

The Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation, and holiday parks in New Zealand each month. Private accommodation is excluded.

See Accommodation Survey: March 2016 for more information on monthly accommodation statistics.

See International Travel and Migration: March 2016 for visitor numbers.

For more information about these statistics:

• Visit Accommodation Survey: March 2016

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