NZ guest nights rise as Queenstown finds favour

Guest nights were down 3.1 per cent from June 2013 across Wairarapa, from 10,814 to 10,481, according to the latest figures.

New Zealand guest nights rose in October, the fourth monthly increase, with high-profile tourist destination Queenstown a major contributor to the gain.

Seasonally adjusted guest nights rose 0.6 percent to 2.92 million in October from the previous month, rising at a slower pace than September's 1.1 percent monthly rise, Statistics New Zealand said. South Island guest nights climbed 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.17 million in the month, and on an unadjusted basis were up 91 percent to 1.03 million from the same month a year earlier. Guest nights in the North Island fell a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent to 1.74 million stays in October from September, and rose 6.3 percent to 1.72 million from a year earlier on an unadjusted basis.

Across the regions, Otago guest nights rose 12 percent in October from the same month a year earlier to 369 stays. Auckland, the biggest destination for overnight stays, rose 4.1 percent to 595 stays in October, while Hawke's Bay and Gisborne reported the only decline, down 2.4 percent to 93 guest nights.

"Otago, which includes Queenstown, was the main contributor to the national increase in October," said Neil Kelly, Statistic NZ's business indicators manager. "Eleven of the 12 regional areas had increases."

On an unadjusted basis, total guest nights rose 7.3 percent to 2.75 million in October, from the same month the previous year, its seventh monthly gain on that measure.

Today's data shows total capacity in short-term accommodation fell 0.4 in October from a year earlier, while occupancy rates improved to 37.6 percent from 35.3 percent in October 2013. Holiday parks showed the biggest improvement in occupancy, up 10 percent, with motels up 2.5 percent, backpackers improving 7.8 percent, and hotels/resorts occupancy increasing 6.4 percent.