Statistics New Zealand have released the Accommodation Survey for April 2009.
They do not make pretty reading. Overall the gloom continues, with the only good news being that the the declining trend is is now somewhat slower. Unfortunately, the motel industry appears to have again taken the biggest hit.
Last year the Easter Holidays occurred in March and this year in April, so in order to get a true comparison it is appropriate to combine the months of March and April 2009 for what has happened compared to last year.
Guest nights for the combined months of March and April 2009 were 4 percent lower than for the same two months in 2008.
In the two months ended April 2009, international guest nights were 8 percent lower and domestic guest nights were 1 percent lower than in the two months ended April 2008.
The combined March and April periods are compared, 10 of the 12 regions had fewer guest nights. Waikato recorded the largest increase, and Auckland the largest decrease.
In the two months ended April 2009, all five accommodation types had fewer guest nights than in the two months ended April 2008, led by:
• motels, down 124,000 (6 percent)
• hotels, down 68,000 (3 percent)
• caravan parks/camping grounds, down 55,000 (4 percent).
In April 2009, the occupancy rate, excluding caravan parks/camping grounds, was 50 percent, compared with 52 percent in April 2008. This is the lowest April occupancy rate since 1998.
Hotels had the highest occupancy rate (53 percent) of all the accommodation types in April 2009, followed by motels (50 percent) and backpackers/hostels (48 percent).
Source: Click HERE
