Record 40.4 million guest nights

Guests spent over 40 million nights, a new high, in hotels, motels, backpackers, and holiday parks in the year ended June 2019, Stats NZ said today.

“While Kiwi guest nights continue to grow, international guest nights in commercial accommodation are trending down, as they have been for the past seven months,” accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

In the June 2019 year, total guest nights were 40.4 million, up 1.3 percent on the June 2018 year. Annual guest nights first exceeded 40 million in September 2018 and have generally grown over the nine months since then.

The latest year included a record 23.2 million domestic guest nights and 17.2 million international guest nights. Compared with the June 2018 year, domestic guest nights rose 3.9 percent, while international guest nights fell 2.1 percent.

Annual international guest nights peaked at 17.6 million in the year ended May 2018. This period includes the month of June 2017 which was boosted by the Lions Rugby Tour. International guest nights in the year ended June 2019 are 2.5 percent lower than the May 2018 peak.

Guest nights rise in June 2019

In the month of June 2019, compared with June 2018, total guest nights rose 1.3 percent to 2.3 million. This was driven by a 3.8 percent rise in domestic guest nights, offsetting a 3.0 percent fall in international guest nights.

International guest nights have been falling for seven months in a row, when compared with the same month in the previous year. This coincides with a fall in visitor arrivals from Asia.

“June is the quietest month of the year for commercial accommodation in New Zealand. Typically, guest nights pick up with the winter ski season and school holidays in July,” Ms McKenzie said.

The Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in short-term commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels, backpackers, and holiday parks. Hosted and private accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts and holiday homes, are excluded.