Accommodation Survey: April 2008

Total guest nights

Total guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation were 2.7 million in April 2008, a decrease of 4 percent compared with April 2007 and 1 percent compared with April 2006.

In 2008, the Easter holidays occurred in March, whereas in 2006 and 2007 they occurred in April. Similarly, the Autumn school holidays generally fall entirely in April but in 2008 these occurred later than usual, going into the first few days of May. This may have contributed to the decrease, although the exact effect cannot be measured. When guest nights for March and April are combined, total guest nights in March and April 2008 were 2 percent higher than in March and April 2007.

The trend for total guest nights has been increasing since January 2006 but has been flattening since mid-2007. In April 2008, the trend level was 1 percent higher than in April 2007 and 7 percent higher than in April 2006.

Guest nights by island

Guest nights in the North Island were 1.6 million in April 2008, a 3 percent decrease compared with April 2007 and a 1 percent increase compared with April 2006.

The trend for North Island guest nights has been increasing since June 2007. In April 2008, the trend level was 3 percent higher than in April 2007 and 9 percent higher than in April 2006.

Guest nights in the South Island were 1.2 million in April 2008, a 5 percent decrease compared with April 2007 and 3 percent compared with April 2006.

The trend for South Island guest nights has been relatively flat since mid-2007. An apparent change in the direction of the trend should be treated with caution, as time series analysis suggests more data is required for the direction of the trend to be confirmed.

In April 2008, the trend series was at a similar level to April 2007 and 5 percent higher than in April 2006.

Guest nights by region

In April 2008, 10 of the 12 regions recorded lower guest nights than in April 2007, with the following regions showing the largest decreases:

• Otago (down 26,000 or 7 percent)
• Bay of Plentry (down 26,000 or 9 percent)
• Waikato (down 25,000 or 10 percent).

The two regions to show an increase were Wellington (up 18,000 or 8 percent) and Auckland (up 15,000 or 3 percent).

When guest nights for March and April are combined, 9 of the 12 regions recorded higher guest nights in March and April 2008 compared with March and April 2007. The largest increases were Canterbury (up 60,000 or 6 percent) and Wellington (up 49,000 or 10 percent). The largest decreases were Waikato (down 30,000 or 6 percent) and the Bay of Plenty (down 13,000 or 2 percent).

Origin of guests

There was a decrease in international guest nights in April 2008, down 72,000 or 6 percent from April 2007. Eleven of the 12 regions had fewer international guest nights with Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Otago showing the largest decreases. The Wellington region was the only region to record higher international guest nights.

Domestic guest nights also decreased in April 2008, down 28,000 or 2 percent compared with April 2007. Nine of the 12 regions had fewer domestic guest nights with Waikato, Otago and Bay of Plenty showing the largest decreases. The region with the largest increase was Auckland.

New Zealanders contributed 57 percent of total guest nights. In the North Island, domestic guest nights made up a 62 percent share, whereas in the South Island, the proportion was 51 percent. Eleven of the 12 regions had more domestic guest nights than international guest nights. Otago was the only region where international guest nights were greater than domestic guest nights

Survey change

From the November 2007 survey month, information on domestic and international guest nights is available on a monthly basis. Previous information on 'origin of guest breakdown by country' is no longer available. This is the first stage of changes being made following a review of the Accommodation Survey, which aims to balance the need for high-quality information against the need to reduce respondent load.

In April 2008, there was a response rate of 66 percent to the Accommodation Survey question on 'origin of guests'. Prior to the survey change, the response rate for this question ranged between 55 and 60 percent. Figures for those establishments that failed to respond have been imputed (see Response rates). Such high levels of imputation can affect data quality, especially for regional statistics and/or statistics by accommodation type.

Comparison with short-term overseas visitor arrival statistics

The External Migration: April 2008 release shows that short-term overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand in April 2008 were down 13,800 (7 percent) from April 2007. This followed an increase of 11,600 (5 percent) in March 2008 compared with March 2007.

The estimated average number of visitors who were in New Zealand during April 2008 was up 2 percent from April 2007.

New Zealand resident short-term departures for April 2008 were up 600 (less than 1 percent) from April 2007. This followed an increase of 2,400 (2 percent) in March 2008 compared with March 2007.

Guest nights by accommodation type

In April 2008, guest nights for three of the five accommodation types decreased compared with April 2007. Caravan parks/camping grounds had the largest decrease, down 97,000 or 18 percent, followed by motels, down 49,000 or 5 percent. Guest nights increased for hotels, up 42,000 or 5 percent.

When guest nights for March and April are combined, guest nights for four of the five accommodation types increased in March and April 2008, compared with March and April 2007, led by hotels and caravan parks/camping grounds. The only accommodation type to show a decrease over this time was motels.

Occupancy rate

In April 2008, the occupancy rate, excluding caravan parks/camping grounds, was 52 percent, the same as in April 2007.

Accommodation capacity, excluding caravan parks/camping grounds, was 3 percent above the 2007 level.

Hotels had the highest occupancy rate (57 percent) of all the accommodation types in April 2008, followed by motels (55 percent) and backpackers/hostels (47 percent).

Excluding the caravan parks/camping grounds category, the Wellington region had the highest occupancy rate (63 percent) in April 2008, followed by Auckland (61 percent).

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Response rates

When respondents do not answer questions in the Accommodation Survey, Statistics New Zealand estimates the missing information based on data from similar establishments in the same and/or similar areas. For more information, please refer to the Technical notes of this release or contact Statistics NZ.

Survey sponsorship

The Accommodation Survey is a monthly survey undertaken by Statistics NZ and sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism.

For technical information contact:
Brylee Wayman or Tehseen Islam
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: info@stats.govt.nz

Next release ...

Accommodation Survey: May 2008 will be released on 11 July 2008.