Guest nights at record high in January

Overnight stays in commercial accommodation rose 4 percent from a year earlier to a record high level in January, traditionally the peak month for guest nights, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) says.

The 4.4 million guest night were the highest since the survey began in 1996, although similar to the number reached in January 2008.

In January this year, international guest nights were 8 percent higher at 1.7m and domestic guest nights 2 percent higher at 2.7m than in January 2009.

Eleven of the 12 regions recorded more guest nights in January than a year earlier, SNZ said.

Waikato numbers were up 10 percent or 41,000, while Canterbury lifted 5 percent or 31,000, Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman was up 8 percent or 30,000, and Wellington up 10 percent or 23,000.

Waikato, Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman, and Otago, which had a 3.2 percent rise, all recorded their highest numbers of guest nights on record, SNZ said.

Taranaki/Manawatu-Wanganui was the only region with a decline from a year earlier, with guest nights down 11,000 or 5 percent.

Otago had a 13 percent or 34,000 rise in international guest nights, Canterbury had a 9 percent or 27,000 increase, the Bay of Plenty was up by 15 percent or 19,000, and Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman was up 16,000 or 15 percent.

On the West Coast, international guest nights were down 4000 or 4 percent.

Waikato had the biggest rise in domestic guest nights, with an increase of 39,000 or 14 percent, followed by Wellington which was up 20,000 or 14 percent, while Otago had a decline of 16,000 or 5 percent.

Hotel guest nights were up 80,000 or 8 percent in January from a year earlier, holiday parks rose 51,000 or 3 percent, motels gained 30,000 or 3 percent, with backpackers up 26,000 or 5 percent.

Excluding holiday parks, the occupancy rate in January was 57 percent, compared to 56 percent a year earlier, while capacity was up 2 percent.