Queenstown hits all-time high for May guest nights

Wednesday, 10 July 2013, 4:17 pm
Press Release: Destination Queenstown

Media release from Destination Queenstown
10 July 2013

Queenstown hits all-time high for May guest nights

It was a record-breaking month for Queenstown according to Statistics New Zealand’s latest figures, with the resort experiencing its busiest ever May thanks to strong international numbers.

Released today, the Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM) shows an extra 10,000 nights recorded during the month, up 7.8 percent to 138,008 guest nights* compared with May 2012.

International guest nights were up 13.7 percent to 86,782, accounting for 62.9 percent of all guest nights in the region. Domestic guest nights remained flat, slightly down 0.8 percent to 51,225 for the same period.

The CAM also revealed that hotels enjoyed a 14 percent guest night increase and an average occupancy level of 41 percent - a 3.7 percent improvement on last May.

“This is a very healthy increase in rooms sold during what is typically a quiet month for us,” said Destination Queenstown CEO Graham Budd.

“We usually experience a bit of a lull in May before Winter Festival and our ski season kick things off for the winter but this year it was certainly busier around town thanks largely to our international guests.

“For many years one of DQ’s core strategies has been to build our off-peak season, with May being a particular target. In 2000 we had only 88,000 visitors in May so with 138,000 this year we’re making steady progress.”

Queenstown’s results were in line with national CAM figures for May which showed an 8 percent overall increase in guest nights.

The May 2013 Commercial Accommodation Monitor report for Queenstown is available on the Destination Queenstown website: http://www.queenstownnz.co.nz/Media/Statistics2_md/.

* Commercial guest nights are defined as one guest staying for one night in the resort.

ENDS

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