International guest nights drive September increase

International guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation were up 8 percent in September 2009 compared with September 2008, Statistics New Zealand said today. With domestic guest nights slightly higher than in the previous September, total guest nights in September 2009 were up 3 percent over the same period.

Eleven of the 12 regions experienced an increase in guest nights, with Otago and Canterbury recording the largest increases, both driven by international guest nights. The Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman region recorded the only decrease.

All four accommodation types recorded more guest nights in September 2009 than in September 2008. Hotels, which had the largest share of guest nights, led the increase – up 4 percent.

From the September 2009 survey month, the 'hosted' accommodation group has been removed from the survey and regional boundaries have been updated. The data for the previous months has also been updated on this new basis.