Hawke's Bay tourist numbers increased in 2010

Tourists numbers to Hawke's Bay increased in 2010 thanks to more people staying in private accommodation, says Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas.
She said two thirds of accommodation was with friends and family, and increasingly in places such as bachs booked online with Book a Bach.
The Commercial Accommodation Monitor reported Hawke's Bay's commercial accommodation nights were down 2.4 per cent, which meant there were 24,776 fewer guest nights for 2010 in the Bay.
However Ms Dundas said a Private Household Accommodation Monitor reported that Hawke's Bay's nights were up 2.6 per cent, an extra 61,771 guest nights for the year, which meant an overall increase of 36,995 visitor nights compared to 2009.
The result was in line with growth targets for 2010.
"We are focused on continuing to increase visitor nights by an additional one per cent year on year which will see Hawke's Bay's visitor night's total over 3.5 million for 2011."
Hawke's Bay Tourism was the new collaborative organisation between the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Hawke's Bay Wine Country Tourism Association.
George Hickton, board chair of Hawke's Bay Tourism, said the results showed the importance of local residents to the tourism industry.
"They have the ability to showcase the wonderful region they live in and encourage their visiting friends and family to explore Hawke's Bay," Mr Hickton said.