Demand for lodgings sets record

Demand for tourist accommodation reached the highest level on record in the year to December, buoyed by the British and Irish Lions tour in June and July.

Statistics New Zealand figures show short-term guest nights in the 2005 calendar year clocked in at 31.5 million - the highest reading since the accommodation survey began in 1996.

Otago and Wellington were the biggest annual winners, with a rise of 163,000 guest nights, or 4 per cent; and 159,000 guest nights, or 7 per cent, respectively.

The annual rise was offset by a drop-off in December, when guest nights fell 3 per cent on the same month a year earlier to 3.1 million.

Nine of the 12 regions recorded fewer guest nights in December, with backpackers and hostels the only accommodation type to record a monthly increase (5 per cent).

December guest nights were 4 per cent lower in the North Island, at 1.7 million, and 3 per cent lower in the South Island, at 1.3 million. The average length of stay for visitors in December was 22 days.

Motels had the largest share of total guest nights in December, at 30 per cent, followed by caravans and camping grounds and hotels, both on 27 per cent.

- NZPA