Guest nights continue record rise

A rise in guest nights in September shows the Government’s focus on building tourism’s shoulder season demand is paying off, Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett says.

New figures show national guest nights in September 2016 were up 6.4 per cent on the same time last year to 2.6 million, a record for September across domestic and international guests and all accommodation types.

Domestic guest nights were up 3 per cent on September 2015 to 1.6 million while international guest nights were up 12.4 per cent to 1 million.

“The seasonal nature of tourism is a challenge for our industry, which is why we have been focusing our efforts on creating tourism demand in the shoulder seasons. These efforts are paying off, giving tourism operators more financial certainty throughout the year,” Mrs Bennett says.

“We are also backing our tourism industry to ensure they are resourced and ready for this increase in numbers. This includes research on future accommodation needs and funding for innovative regional tourism projects and infrastructure.

Earlier this week I announced more than $3 million for regional infrastructure which included toilet, parking and effluent projects. This is the first round of $12 million funding,” Mrs Bennett says.

More information on the Regional Mid-Sized Facilities Grant Fund announcement can be found at https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/14-projects-get-tourism-infrastructure-funding

More information on the Accommodation Survey can be found at Accommodation Survey: September 2016