Dining out not 'in' with tourists

Tourists who stay in apartments are increasingly opting to cook their own dinner instead of eating out, says a Queenstown restaurateur.

The upsurge in condominium and apartment-style accommodation in the city over the past year had coincided with a drop in business, said Tony Robertson, president of the Southern Lakes Restaurant Association and owner of the Boardwalk Seafood and Hamills Restaurants.

"It's conjecture but you only have to go to the big new supermarket here in the ski season and see the range of nationalities and it's obvious some who traditionally would have eaten out just aren't anymore," he said.

Queenstown had traditionally had motels and hotels but in the past year self-catering apartments with fully-equipped kitchens had mushroomed, with 1200 new beds available this summer and more to come.

His restaurant turnover was down between 10 per cent and 12 per cent last year, Mr Robertson said.

Mike Egan, co-owner of the Monsoon Poon restaurants in Wellington and Auckland and president of the Wellington Restaurant Association, was doubtful self-catering apartments were making big inroads into the restaurant trade.

He agreed some tourists visiting here for a longer stay were likely to stock up at the supermarket rather than eat out every night.

But he doubted it was having a major effect. "Are you really going to visit another part of the world and sit in your apartment?"

Bart Littlejohn of Sails Restaurant on Auckland's waterfront said it could be a Queenstown-specific problem because the town was so dependent on the tourist trade.

"I know when I go down there I stay in an apartment and it's easy sometimes just to cook dinner instead of going out, especially if you've got young kids," he said.

But Mr Littlejohn said he had noticed recently that overseas friends who stayed at an apartment in downtown Auckland chose to dine in.

"People staying here for any length of time are more likely to go to the trouble of stocking up from the supermarket."