Holiday parks cash in on hardy winter visitors
Wednesday, 10 August 2016
The days of holiday parks closing over the winter are rapidly disappearing with a 25 per cent jump in guest nights in June thanks to warmer temperatures and new facilities.
Nationally, guest nights in short term commercial accommodation were up almost 16 per cent in June compared with last year, providing another record-breaking month of tourism statistics for motels, hotels, backpackers and holiday parks.
Winter shut-downs are increasingly rare, according to Holiday Parks Association chief executive Fergus Brown.
He estimated only about 30 close and said there was a trend towards building new facilities, such as games rooms, motels and cabins, which attracted custom even in cooler weather.
'That provides year round accommodation and the development of facilities like heated swimming pools [means] people can enjoy a holiday in June as opposed to having to wait until summer.'
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There were reports of campers continuing to stay in tents right through the colder weather, which Brown attributed to the fact that about a third of the country's 418 holiday parks were close to the popular Te Araroa Trail.
Tourism New Zealand efforts to increase tourism in shoulder and off peak seasons were clearly paying off, he said.
Domestic visitors were the main contributor to increased use of holiday parks and backpackers in June, while overseas visitor nights were up 28 per cent in motels.
Across all accommodation types, the North Island (up 13.3 per cent), did slightly better than the South Island (up 9.5 per cent).