13 February 2013

Auckland bucks national visitation trend for 2012

Auckland ended last year on a high with a 2.7 per cent increase in guest nights for year end 2012, compared to a national decline of 1.8 per cent over the same period.

The latest results from Statistics New Zealand’s Commercial Accommodation Monitor confirm that Auckland maintained sustained growth in domestic and international guest nights throughout 2012.

During the year Auckland’s international guest nights rose 0.3 per cent, while nationally they fell 6.1 per cent. Domestic guest nights grew 4.7 per cent surpassing the national increase of 1.1 per cent.

ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) Acting General Manager Destination Jason Hill says it is great to see Auckland finish the year so strongly.

“We have actively worked to drive visitation through tourism campaigns and promotions domestically and in Australia and China. It is heartening to see this work pay off in what remains a challenging visitor market,” he says.

“Auckland also hosted several major events, musicals and concerts throughout 2012 – including the Barfoot and Thompson ITU Triathlon World Championships, Mary Poppins, Cold Play and Taylor Swift – which helped to draw domestic and international visitors to the region,” says Mr Hill.

Auckland’s strong 2012 visitation figures will help to support ATEED’s work to grow the overall visitor economy in line with the targets in its 10-year Auckland Visitor Plan.

ATEED – on behalf of Auckland Council – aims to double the contribution from the visitor economy over the next 10 years, growing it from $3.33 billion in 2010 to $6 billion in 2021.

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