Accommodation Survey: September 2011

In September 2011 compared with September 2010:

• International guest nights rose 21 percent, boosted by Rugby World Cup visitors. 
• Domestic guest nights fell 12 percent, affected by school holidays being moved to October.
• Overall guest nights rose just 0.3 percent.
• North Island guest nights rose 7.7 percent, while South Island guest nights fell 11 percent.
• Auckland, Waikato, and Wellington recorded the largest regional increases in guest nights, but were more than offset by the decrease in Canterbury.
• Holiday parks and backpacker accommodation had rises in guest nights, while hotels and motels had falls.

The trend for the total number of guest nights shows increases since the January 2011 low-point (a provisional increase of 2.8 percent over this time), but the rate of increase has slowed compared with that indicated last month.