Record month for Rotorua visitor industry

Rotorua's visitor industry enjoyed a record breaking June this year. Photo/File

Rotorua's visitor industry enjoyed a record breaking June this year - a month which is usually a low point of the year.

Both domestic and international activity increased with the latest Statistics New Zealand data on visitor nights spent in Rotorua's commercial accommodation showing local hotels, motels, hostels and holiday parks collectively hosted 134,300 visitor nights for the month of June.

This was a 23 per cent increase (up 25,000 nights) on the previous year and far exceeding a 12 per cent increase nationally.

This year's Queen's Birthday weekend falling in June, rather than straddling May and June as happened last year, combined with good weather and the ongoing Famously Rotorua domestic marketing campaign were likely contributors to a record June 80,400 domestic visitor nights spent in Rotorua's commercial accommodation (up 24 per cent versus an 11 per cent increase nationally).

The Rotorua Attractions and Activities Monitor also reported a record 154,400 visits during June, up 25,100 (or 19 per cent) on the previous year. Unseasonably warm weather is believed to have encouraged domestic visitors to get outdoors.

Domestic visits reported by the activities sector were up 35 per cent and the attractions sector reported a 22 per cent increase in domestic visits.

"The latest statistics are evidence that the Famously Rotorua domestic marketing campaign continues to resonate with its audience, broadening New Zealanders' perceptions of Rotorua and driving them to visit" said Destination Rotorua general manager Oscar Nathan.

"The campaign is a joint venture with the Rotorua visitor industry, profiling Rotorua as a series of comprehensive visitor experiences with each experience targeted to appeal to a specific domestic market segment."

Statistics New Zealand data shows Rotorua commercial accommodation had strong growth across all four accommodation types, with each sector having double digit percentage increases in visitor nights for the June, compared with the previous year and exceeding national growth in each sector.

More than half of the 25,000 increase in visitor nights for June occurred in Rotorua hotels which were up 24 per cent (versus an 11 percent increase in hotels nationally). Rotorua hotel occupancy for June was 63 per cent, a 10 percentage point increase on last year, and double the national increase (up five percentage points to 57 per cent).

The New Zealand Trade & Enterprise initiated Project Palace report published earlier this year identified Rotorua as a key New Zealand tourism destination which needed new hotel development to meet projected tourism increases during the next 10 years.

The continued strong growth in the Rotorua visitor industry puts it well on track to achieving the goal of $1 billion in visitor expenditure by 2030.