Motel and Caravan Park Guests Down

Monday, 12 July 1999, 4:17 pm
Press Release: Statistics New Zealand

Accommodation Survey - May 1999

Statistics New Zealand's latest Accommodation Survey shows a drop in the number of nights spent by guests in commercial accommodation between May 1998 and May 1999. The fall was confined to motels and caravan parks, and may be due to the change in timing of Queen's Birthday weekend. In 1998 Queen's Birthday was observed on Monday 1 June. As a result, the Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend fell in May 1998. This year the long weekend fell entirely in June.

The change in timing of the holiday may have caused a fall in the level of domestic activity for May. The majority of guests in motels and caravan parks are New Zealanders, whereas international visitors account for a larger proportion of guests in hotels and backpackers. Hotels and backpackers both recorded rises in guests, which is consistent with external migration data that recorded a rise in short-term international arrivals.

Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Wellington were the only regions to record rises in demand for accommodation. Christchurch hosted the APEC business ministers' meeting that ran from 26 April to 7 May, while Dunedin hosted the Super 12 Rugby final. These two events may have driven the rise in guests in the Canterbury and Otago regions.

Ian Ewing

DEPUTY GOVERNMENT STATISTICIAN
12 July 1999

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