Accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said that his month’s increase builds on the stronger guest night growth we saw last May, when it rose 7.3 percent from May 2016.

“May is typically one of the quieter months for accommodation providers, as we head into cooler months,” Ms McKenzie said. “This contrasts with the summer peak, when nearly twice as many guest nights are spent in commercial accommodation.”

Key facts

For May 2018 compared with May 2017:

• Total guest nights in New Zealand rose 1.6 percent to 2,541,000
• Domestic guest nights rose 2.5 percent to 1,494,000
• International guest nights rose 0.4 percent to 1,047,000.

Guest nights increased for three of the four accommodation types:

• Hotels – up 3.6 percent to 1,046,000
• Motels – up 1.3 percent to 801,000
• Backpackers – down 3.7 percent to 333,000
• Holiday parks – up 1.7 percent to 361,000.

Guest nights were up in 9 of the 12 regional areas. The largest changes were in:

• Auckland – down 20,000 (3.5 percent) to 558,000
• Canterbury – up 20,000 (6.1 percent) to 345,000
• Otago – up 16,000 (4.6 percent) to 369,000, boosted by Queenstown.

The growth in total guest nights was driven by more domestic guest nights spent in accommodation across New Zealand, and more international guest nights in the South Island. Together these increases offset a fall in international guest nights in the North Island.

Click here to view the Stats NZ official website.

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