South Island hotel, motel and backpacker businesses took a hammering from the Christchurch earthquake, with international visitors down by almost a quarter in March, compared with the same month last year. Nationally, total guest nights dropped 5.4 per cent in March this year, compared with the same month last year according to Statistics NZ figures.
International guest nights in the South Island fell 24 per cent compared with March 2010. Canterbury was hardest hit, down 30 per cent in March, due to fewer international guest nights.
However, the North Island recorded an overall increase in guest nights, with Auckland up 8 per cent and Wellington up 4.4 per cent. "Nationally, capacity has dropped, driven by the decrease in the Canterbury region," business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said.
"Due to the earthquakes in September 2010 and February 2011, less accommodation was available in Canterbury. Available capacity was down by half for hotels and by a third for backpacker accommodation, compared with March 2010. This should be kept in mind when looking at figures for the Canterbury region."