Visitor nights fall

Guest nights spent in commercial short-term accommodation rose 1 per cent in April from a year earlier to 2.8 million, with Waikato and Wellington recording sizeable declines, Statistics NZ said.

Hotels rose 7 per cent or 65,000 guest nights from a year earlier but backpackers were down 5 per cent or 22,000 and holiday parks fell 12,000 or 2 per cent.