Guest nights in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty declined in the year to April - but Tourism Bay of Plenty says visitor spending is what matters.
Guest nights for the Bay of Plenty Regional Tourism Organisation area, comprised of Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty district, were down 2.5 per cent on the previous year for the year ended April, according to Statistics New Zealand's Commercial Accommodation Monitor. The Statistics New Zealand Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation and holiday parks in New Zealand each month. A guest night refers to one guest spending one night in an establishment.
Tourism Bay of Plenty head of marketing Kristin Dunne said the monitor measured only commercial accommodation and did not include anything other than motels, hotels, backpackers and camping grounds.
She said 75 per cent of visitors to the region did not book into commercial accommodation but stayed in baches, with friends and family or in apartments. Ms Dunne said the Bay of Plenty lacked hotel options which led visitors to travel more independently, for example using camper vans or booking into baches or bed and breakfasts.
Tourism Bay of Plenty had little faith in the accommodation monitor, Ms Dunne said, as an indicator of tourism growth in the region. It reviewed the results, but used visitor spend as a benchmark.
