New Zealand guest nights were largely flat in August from a month earlier as a gain from domestic travellers was offset by a drop in foreign stays.
Seasonally adjusted guest nights were almost unchanged at 2.87 million in August from July, according to Statistics New Zealand. Of that, domestic guestnights rose 0.4 per cent to 1.74 million in the month and international guest nights fell 2.3 per cent to 1.12 million. On an unadjusted basis, guest nights were up 3.3 per cent to 2.21 million in August from the same month a year earlier.
Last month, government figures showed international visitor arrivals fell 1 per cent to 188,000 in August from the same month a year earlier, with the later Ramadan holidays reducing the number of visitors from Muslim nations such as Indonesia.
Yesterday's data shows total capacity in short-term accommodation was unchanged in August from a year earlier, while occupancy rates improved to 32.3 per cent from 31.2 per cent in August 2013. Hotels showed the biggest improvement in occupancy, up 2.5 percentage points, with motels up 0.2 of a percentage point, backpackers improving 0.7 percentage points, and holiday parks 0.9 percentage points.
Guest nights in the North Island rose a seasonally adjusted 2.3 per cent to 1.74 million in the month, and were up 4.4 per cent to 1.33 million from a year earlier on an unadjusted basis. South Island guest nights fell 4.1 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 1.12 million in August, and on an unadjusted basis were up 1.8 per cent to 876,000 from the same month a year earlier.
