Tourists flock to motels

16 February 2017

International visitors continued to boost guest-night numbers, particularly for motels, in November, Statistics NZ said today. National guest nights for November 2016 were 5.1 percent higher than in November 2015.

"Again the rise in guest nights was led by international visitors," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said. "While recently most accommodation series have been at record highs for their respective months, the growth in international visitor motel guest nights stands out.”

November saw 378,000 international guest nights spent in motels, 29 percent more than in November 2015. This is the sixth month in a row that international motel guest nights have been up more than 20 percent from the same month in 2015.

For November 2016, compared with November 2015:

• Total international guest nights were up 12 percent to 1.6 million. Domestic guest nights were down 0.9 percent to 1.7 million.

• North Island guest nights were up 4.7 percent, and South Island guest nights were up 5.6 percent.

• Eleven of the 12 regional areas had more guest nights.

• All four accommodation types had more guest nights.

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 also:

• Quake causes record fall in Kaikoura guest nights in November.

• Accommodation Survey: November 2016 for more information on monthly accommodation statistics.

• International Travel and Migration: November 2016 for visitor numbers.

Delay to the release

Due to the 14 November earthquake, we delayed this release from its scheduled date of 18 January 2017. The delay ensures the information is produced to its usual quality level. We are releasing December 2016 results on 6 March 2017.

Ends

© Scoop Media