KEY POINTS:
The total number of guest nights spent in short term commercial accommodation dropped 4 per cent in April from a year earlier, with the timing of Easter partly to blame.
International guest nights were down 6 per cent, or 72,000, from April 2007, while domestic guest nights were down 2 per cent, or 28,000. The total was 2.7 million.
Releasing the data, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said the timing of Easter and the autumn school holidays may have contributed to the decrease, although the exact effect could not be measured.
Easter was in March this year, rather than April as it was last year. The school holidays generally fell entirely in April, but this year were later than usual, going into the first few days of May.
When guest nights for March and April were combined, the total was 2 per cent higher this year than in 2007, SNZ said.
The largest regional decreases in April from a year earlier were of 26,000 in both Otago, where it was down 7 per cent, and Bay of Plenty, down 9 per cent. Waikato was down 25,000 or 10 per cent.
The two regions to show an increase for April were Wellington, up 18,000 or 8 per cent, and Auckland, up 15,000 or 3 per cent.
When guest nights for March and April were combined, Waikato had the largest decrease with a 30,000 or 6 per cent fall, followed by Bay of Plenty with a drop of 13,000 or 2 per cent.
The largest increase for the combined months was in Canterbury, which had an increase of 60,000 or 6 per cent, and Wellington with an increase of 49,000 or 10 per cent.
- NZPA
