Queenstown visitor numbers up

Tuesday, 13 March 2012, 10:55 am
Press Release: Destination Queenstown

Media release from Destination Queenstown
13 March 2012

Queenstown visitor numbers up for third consecutive month

January 2012 visitor numbers released by Statistics New Zealand yesterday (12 March) show Queenstown performed well for a third consecutive month with guest nights up 7.2 percent compared to January 2011. This is against a national average decrease of 4.2 percent.

Double digit growth in domestic visitors to Queenstown continued with the Commercial Accommodation Monitor showing an increase of 29 percent compared to January 2011. This follows on from 25.3 percent and 36.6 percent rises in domestic guest nights in November and December 2011 respectively.

Destination Queenstown CEO Tony Everitt said it was great to see more Kiwis enjoying summer holidays close to home.
“People have been coming from all over New Zealand to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine with their loved ones and friends. We have also seen a significant increase of Wellingtonians this summer thanks to Jetstar’s new Wellington-Queenstown direct jet service which started just before Christmas.”

Mr Everitt said Chinese New Year also contributed to the increase in guest nights in January.

“The surge in Asian visitors we saw over Chinese New Year almost offset the falls from our traditional markets like the UK and Europe which are still experiencing challenging economic conditions. It was great to see our local businesses embrace Chinese New Year and look for opportunities to attract Asian visitors and make them feel welcome.”

However Mr Everitt noted that the change in the timing of Chinese New Year, which was in February last year, would impact on the Commercial Accommodation Monitor figures for February 2012.

Queenstown’s NZ Hotel Council Chairperson Penny Clark said the wall to wall sunshine had been a great drawcard for visitors over the summer holiday break.

“Many people were here on planned holidays but we also picked up short lead bookings with people from around the country escaping the unsettled weather and gravitating toward the sunshine. January was supported by some strong Conference and Incentive business around town as well.”

ENDS

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