Tourist accommodation 'no licence to print money'

Although tourist numbers continue to grow, running tourist accommodation is no licence to print money, say two Bay of Plenty B&B owners.

But after a quiet winter, Lynlie Watson and Helen Cook say bookings for the next few months are looking good.

Watson, owner of the Jacaranda Cottage in Katikati, said she had been getting good bookings for the December-January-February period, but it "has been slow coming".

"Although it is termed a business, you cannot look on it as your only source of income unless you are in a tourist hotspot," she said.

Watson, who is also one of the assessors for the NZ Bed & Breakfast book, has now put up the no vacancy sign but is sending people to other businesses in the Katikati area.

Cook, a co-owner of Waterford House in Katikati, said October and November had been extremely busy, with her business hosting guests from Israel, France and Britain.

But she had found that after 10 years of running the B&B, the number of domestic tourists had overtaken those from overseas.

The continuing growth in tourism was highlighted yesterday by Statistics New Zealand, which said international guest nights rose 6 per cent in October compared with the year before. It said visitors from Australia were up 23,000, an 8 per cent rise, and those from the UK and Ireland rose 17,000 or 10 per cent.

Overall, total guest nights for the month were 2.3 million, a 3 per cent increase on the year before.

Government Statistician Brian Pink said guest nights had been rising since June 1988 and seven of the 12 regions had more guest nights this October than the year before.

All accommodation types, except motels, recorded increases in guest nights in October, with hotels - 6 per cent - reporting the largest absolute increase.