KEY POINTS:
A slow start to the tourist season is being blamed on the Rugby World Cup keeping Kiwis on the couch and a lack of major local events to draw international visitors.
Statistics New Zealand accommodation figures for October, which is traditionally the start of the main tourist season, show guest nights were down 1 per cent on October last year. All five accommodation types (hotels, motels, camping grounds, hostels and backpackers) recorded a drop for the first time in 16 months.
New Zealand Hotel Council chief executive Mark Oldershaw said the Rugby World Cup caused more domestic travellers to stay at home to watch the games on TV.
"This was something that many people did not foresee, many conferences were delayed to either November or early 2008."
Oldershaw said the high dollar and a lack of events had also detracted from New Zealand's appeal to international visitors. "There has been a real lack of major events across New Zealand over the last few months which has severely impacted on both international and domestic travel."
Auckland in particular had lost several events which would have flow-on effects for the accommodation industry, he said.
Oldershaw said having well-marketed regional events remained the main challenge in attracting tourists during the shoulder season.
"Local government needs to understand the value of key events marketing."
However Oldershaw remained positive about the rest of the peak tourist season.
"Forward bookings across summer look very good. Most are looking forward to another strong high season."
Tourism Industry Association chief executive Fiona Luhrs said the figures weren't necessarily an indication for the rest of the season and were more likely to be an anomaly caused by the Rugby World Cup.
The figures show the highest drop-off in international visitors were from Asian countries, down 10 per cent, followed by the UK and Ireland, which fell by 7 per cent.
Luhrs said its was likely that many UK and Irish travellers would have gone to Europe to catch some of the games rather than coming to New Zealand.
"I'm not aware of anything else that would have caused the drop," she said.
Luhrs said feedback from accommodation providers for the summer ahead was so far mixed, with some booked out and others not doing as well.
"Travellers are booking much closer to the time of travel these days. It used to be six to eight weeks in advance but you are lucky to know a month ahead now."
She said the November and December figures would give a much clearer picture of the season.
Tourism is New Zealand's largest export earner. In the year to March 2006 international visitors brought $8.3 billion into the New Zealand economy while domestic tourism brought in $10.3 billion.
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Accommodation guest nights for October 2007, compared to October last year:
Total guest nights: Down 1 per cent
North Island: Down 2 per cent
South Island: Unchanged
Motels Down: 1 per cent
Hotels Down: 1 per cent
