Camping numbers improve for May

APPY CAMPERS: The Camping NZ smartphone app shows the Eketahuna Motor Camp's location.

The Eketahuna camping ground's visitor numbers in May were almost double those in the corresponding month last year.

Almost half of the 307 visitors in Eketahuna used unpowered accommodation this May.

In 2014 and 2013, this type of camping was less popular than using a powered site but figures from May's Eketahuna Campground report show more people have been using tents and arriving in cars and vans, opting to sleep in them overnight.

The cabins at Eketahuna have also recorded an increase in patronage with 68 visitors last month, after there were only nine in May 2014. The report credits good weather this May.

Camp ground co-owner Kerry Cunningham said some of the facilities, such as the kitchen and toilets, had been upgraded in December.

He said smartphone apps including Camping NZ had become more popular, allowing younger people from other countries, often Europeans, to find the Eketahuna campground, especially due to a high rating it had on the app.

The site was also relatively cheaper than nearby options, encouraging the younger tourists to stay there, he said.

June results would not be as favourable, with the report saying frost and wet weather had led to a drop in numbers.