Of all accommodation types, hotel guest nights rose the most in January, up 6%, boosted by both domestic and international guest nights, while guest nights spent in holiday parks rose 3.2%, driven by increased international guest nights. North Island stays rose 0.9% to 2.9 million and South Island guest nights gained 2.1% to 2.1 million. In the South Island, international guest nights rose 2.9% to 1.1 million while domestic guest nights were up 1.2% to 998,000. In the North Island, international guest nights lifted 3.2% to 1 million while domestic guest nights were down 0.3% to 1.85 million. The largest increases were in Canterbury, where guest nights were up 11% on a year ago to 661,000 and Southland, where they rose 6% to 155,000 guest nights.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 12, 2018 15:56 UTC