April was the greatest month for visitors

Guest nights in Queenstown hit an all time high in April, with domestic figures the highest of any single month.

Statistics New Zealand's Commercial Accommodation Monitor showed the total guest nights for the month were up 20.9% to 264,789 compared with April 2013.

It was the highest number of guest nights recorded in April - the previous record was 219,001.

Of that, international guest nights rose 10.7% to 152,690 - a record for international guest nights for the month.

The Commercial Accommodation Monitor showed domestic guest nights up 38.3% to 112,099 - the highest number of domestic guest nights recorded for any single month in Queenstown, beating both the January and February highs.

Commercial guest nights are defined as one guest staying one night.

Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd said he was ''delighted'' with the result.

''Achieving year-on-year growth is very satisfying but to achieve the highest ever domestic guest nights for any month is outstanding.

''We knew April felt busy around the region, with key events such as Warbirds over Wanaka, the Blues and Roots Festival, Arrowtown Autumn Festival and the Queenstown Bike Festival.

''Having Easter and the Anzac long weekend falling during the month also gave visitors from around New Zealand the perfect opportunity to visit Queenstown,'' he said.

A year-on-year comparison ending April 2014 shows overall guest nights were up 10.3% to 2,883,184, with a 10.8% increase in international guest nights and a 9.4% increase in domestic guest nights.

Earlier this month, the Otago Daily Times reported Queenstown Airport had also enjoyed growth in April, with more than 105,491 passengers moving through the airport, up 4.2% on April 2013.

In the three months to March, the resort attracted a record number of visitors, with a total of 877,416 guest nights recorded.

Queenstown hosts about 2 million visitors a year, 48% international and 52% domestic.

The resort is bracing itself for another visitor influx, with the 40th annual Queenstown Winter Festival officially opening next Friday night.

The festival is expected to attract about 45,000 people over the course of the 10 days and inject about $57 million into the local economy.

The start of the festival coincides with the first day on the slopes at the Remarkables skifield, scheduled to open on June 21.

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