Guest Nights Up Across The Board In May

Guest nights up across the board in May

12 July 2017 - Guest nights were up 7.3 percent in May 2017 compared with May 2016, with increases in all the regions, Stats NZ said today. The biggest rises were in Canterbury, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, and Northland.

The increase in Canterbury was driven by more guest nights in the Mackenzie district and helped by Kaikoura guest nights recovering to similar levels as last year, down just 2.1 percent on the previous May.

"In the months after the November 2016 earthquakes, commercial guest nights in Kaikoura were 30 to 80 percent lower than the same months of the previous year," accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said. "It appears the combination of a slower winter month and construction workers staying in Kaikoura have helped May guest nights recover."

The British and Irish Lions rugby tour, which had its first game in Northland in early June, may have had some impact in May. However the impact on guest nights will likely be clearer in next month’s accommodation figures.

Seasonally adjusted guest nights for May 2017 fell 2.5 percent compared with April 2017, retreating from some of the gains in March and April.

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

See also: Accommodation Survey: May 2017 for more information on monthly accommodation statistics.

ENDS

For more information about these statistics:

• Visit Accommodation Survey: May 2017
• See CSV files for download

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