Queenstown leads national guest nights

Posted by on 20 September 2010

Queenstown has recorded the largest guest nights increase in the country for the month of July, boosted by a sharp spike in international visitor numbers.

According to Statistics New Zealand’s July Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM), total visitor nights were up 6.8 percent (or 17,000) to 274,589 and international visitor nights were up 13.5 percent to 198,295 compared to the same time last year. However, domestic visitor nights dropped 7.6 percent to 76,295.

Destination Queenstown CEO Tony Everitt says it’s great to see the recovery continuing.

“The increase in our international guest nights has been particularly driven by Aussie skiers and the Asian market which is rebounding quite strongly. Winter Festival also supported this by bringing extra visitors to Queenstown during the first week of July.

“There’s still some caution amongst Kiwi consumers which I believe has contributed to the downturn in the domestic market. Long haul markets like the US and Europe remain challenging so we’re continuing to monitor their economic performance and travel patterns.

“Overall though, the forward outlook continues to be robust,” he says.

John McIlwain, the head of Queenstown’s Hotel Association, says it’s another pleasing result for the region.

“These results continue the trend in recent months. Excellent snow conditions coupled with increased air capacity, marketing and favourable exchange rates directly resulted in Queenstown's surge in guest nights. It’s also good to see the return of substantial conference and incentive business. Indications moving forward are positive and it is expected to be a buoyant market over the coming months.”