South Island guest nights up

Guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation in the South Island in May 2009 were up 2 percent on May 2008, Statistics New Zealand said today. International guest nights in the South Island were up 5 percent over the same period. The Canterbury and Otago regions were the main contributors to this increase. Domestic guest nights were down 1 percent in the South Island.

Guest nights in the North Island were down 2 percent in May 2009 compared with May 2008. International guest nights in the North Island were down 6 percent and domestic guest nights were down less than 1 percent.

Total guest nights in May 2009 were 2 million, 1 percent lower than May 2008. The Auckland region was the main contributor to this decrease.

International and domestic guest nights for New Zealand were both down 1 percent in May 2009 compared with May 2008.