Modest rise in tourists

By JIM EAGLES

Hopes that the Sars virus will not have a long-term effect on the tourist industry have been bolstered by the latest accommodation figures.

Statistics New Zealand yesterday released the accommodation figures for April, which point to a modest increase in the number of guest nights overall.

In particular, the number of nights stayed by overseas visitors looked healthy.

Compared with April 2001 - due to the way the statistics are collected - the number of guest nights recorded by international visitors was up 12 per cent.

Guest nights by people from China and Taiwan were down 30 per cent. But that was more than offset by a 39 per cent increase from Britain and a 12 per cent rise from Australia.

The number of guest nights by domestic visitors was 15 per cent up on April 2001. Overall, the number of guest nights recorded in April was 2.6 million, down on the 2.9 million for March, but up on the 2.3 million in April a year before.