NZ guest nights bounce back in August

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New Zealand accommodation providers had a better month in August, as overall guest nights lifted from the previous month's slump, show figures out today.

Guest nights rose 2.6 per cent last month, rebounding from a fall of 8.8 per cent in July, Statistics New Zealand said today.

"Hotels were the only accommodation type to have a significant rise in seasonally adjusted guest nights," said industry and labour statistics manager Clara Eatherley.

After removing seasonal variations, domestic guest nights rose 3.2 per cent, while international guest nights fell 0.2 per cent.

South Island guest nights saw no change, following a 3.8 per cent fall in July. Figures show a relatively flat trend for South Island guest nights, but numbers remain at a lower level than before the Canterbury earthquakes.

North Island guest nights rose 3.9 per cent after a drop of 11 per cent the previous month. The trend for North Island guest nights continues to decline from its highest-ever peak, in August 2011.

The Statistics New Zealand Accommodation Survey records the number of guests staying in hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation, and holiday parks each month.

The number of hotel guest nights rose 7.1 per cent, while other accommodation types showed little change.

Guest nights have generally been declining since December 2009, said Statistics NZ.

Domestic guest nights are trending relatively flat this year but international guest nights appear to be rising since a low point in March this year.

- nzherald.co.nz