NZ guest nights hit a new record in October

By Rebecca Howard

Dec. 17 (BusinessDesk) - Total guest nights hit a new record in the year to October, with hotels, motels and holiday parks all recording increases as tourism numbers continue to climb.

In the year ended Oct 31, there was a record 40.2 million guest nights, up 2.6 percent from the October 2017 year. Domestic guest nights lifted 2.3 percent to 22.6 million while international guest nights were up 3 percent to 17.6 million.

Tourism has been a key factor underpinning the economy, with annual international tourism arrivals hitting a record 3.82 million in the year ended October.

Hotels, motels, and holiday parks recorded increases, up 3.9 percent, 0.8 percent, and 5.8 percent respectively. Fewer nights, however, were spent in backpackers, with guest nights in those establishments down 1.7 percent in the 12 months to Oct 31.

According to Stats NZ, annual backpacker guest nights have been tapering off from a peak in the year ended December 2017.

Falling guest nights can be influenced by a variety of factors, typically by guests spending fewer nights in accommodation, but also by businesses shutting down or changing the type of accommodation they offer. Accommodation type changes can include a backpacker becoming a hotel or motel, or by converting to long-term accommodation, which is excluded from the survey, said acting accommodation and constructions statistics manager Dave Adair.

The data doesn't include private accommodation, which covers bed and breakfasts, holiday homes and Airbnb.

Total guest nights in October were 3.3 million, up 3.9 percent on the year. Hotel guest nights lifted 7.1 percent from October last year, motels were up 0.5 percent and holiday parks were up 7.9 percent. Backpackers, meanwhile, slid 2.1 percent.

The occupancy rate across accommodation types lifted 1.0 percent in October to 43.1 percent. Hotel occupancy was the highest while holiday parks were the lowest.

(BusinessDesk)

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