Guest nights fall 2pc in January

Guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation were 2 per cent lower in January than a year earlier.

Figures out today from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) show a fall in the North Island of 4 per cent, while in the South Island guest nights rose 2 per cent.

The trend level in total guest nights had declined by 1 per cent since April 2005, following a period of increases that began in July 1998, SNZ said.

Guest nights at caravan parks/camping grounds dropped 63,000, or 4 per cent, in January compared to the same month in 2005, and hotels were down 29,000, or 3 per cent.

The other categories -- motels, hosted and backpackers/hostels -- were each up by fewer than 8000 guest nights.

Seven of 12 regions recorded fewer guest nights in January 2006 than in January 2005. Bay of Plenty and Auckland had the largest decreases, while Otago and Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman recorded the largest increases.

All accommodation types showed drops in the occupancy rate, although for caravan parks/camping grounds the fall was only 0.9 per cent.

Despite concerns that caravan parks and camping grounds are in decline as the rising price of coastal land makes subdivision of such places ever more attractive, the SNZ figures show an increase of eight such establishments over the year to 420. Capacity is also up from 1,670,000 to 1,683,000.

The four other categories also showed increases in the number of establishments and in capacity.

The two major sources of overseas visitors staying in this country -- Australia and Great Britain and Ireland -- both had declines in guest nights, as did North America.

But guest nights for German visitors were up, and those for other Europeans declined only marginally.

- NZPA