Tourism boom rolls on - Jan guest nights up 3.8pc

Tourists are still flooding to our shores - Stats NZ says national guest nights were up 5.5pc for the year to the end of January.

National guest nights have continued their 10th consecutive month of rises in January, up 3.8 per cent compared to January 2014, according to Statistics New Zealand's latest accommodation survey.

The survey showed that for the year ended January 2015, national guest nights were up 5.5 per cent from the same time in 2014.

"Ten of the 12 regional areas had higher guest nights in January," acting business indicators manager Clara Eatherley said.

"Hotels and holiday parks accounted for most of the increase."

After removing seasonal variation, national guest nights fell 1.1 per cent in January 2015, compared with December 2014.

The fall followed a 0.3 per cent rise in December and the trend for national guest nights has continued to rise.

Year-on-year, guest nights were up for all four accommodation types in January; hotel guest nights were up 6.9 per cent, motel guest nights were up 0.5 per cent, backpacker guest nights were up 3.2 per cent and holiday park guest nights were up 4.5 per cent.

The Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in hotels, motels, backpacker
accommodation, and holiday parks in New Zealand each month.

January 2015 compared with January 2014:
• North Island guest nights were up 3.1 per cent, and South Island guest nights were up 4.9 per cent.
• Domestic guest nights were up 4.6 per cent, and international guest nights were up 2.5 per cent.
• All four accommodation types had higher guest nights.
Source: Statistics New Zealand

See the full survey results here