Tourism

There is no doubt that the global economic downturn is having a detrimental effect on the tourism sector. Annual visitor arrivals peaked in March 2008 at 2,497,000 p.a., just 3,000 visitors shy of the 2.5 million per annum milestone that some industry observers expected to be achieved last year. The last three quarters of 2008 saw falls in visitor numbers of 3.6 percent (June quarter), 2.1 percent (September quarter), and 1.5 percent (December »»

Total guest nights for the year to June 2008 rose by 2 percent, with the positive trend for North Island guest nights and flat trend in the South Island continuing. While most months in the past year have seen growth in guest numbers, this June was softer than June 2007. From a regional perspective, only Wellington, one of twelve regions monitored, reported higher guest nights in June (plus 1 percent). International guest nights have »»

The pulse of the tourism sector continues to strengthen, with the latest month’s figures confirming higher guest nights, average lengths of stay, and guests per night compared to those of the previous August. Total guest nights rose by 6.4 percent compared to last August. After removing seasonal effects, guest nights rose by 3.4 percent compared to the previous month. International guest nights surged up by 13 percent compared to »»