Busy Summer Confirms Wellington is a Visitor Destination of Choice
13 April 2007
Wellington has just had its best month on record for guest nights in short-term accommodation, cementing its position as a visitor destination of choice.
Just-released Statistics New Zealand figures show that visitors to Wellington in February spent over 182,000 nights in short-term commercial accommodation. This is not just Wellington’s strongest February result, but the best month for the capital since the Commercial Accommodation Monitor began in July 1996. It also follows in the wake of the strongest January that Wellington has had on record.
“This result confirms that Wellington really is the place to be during summer,” says Positively Wellington Tourism CEO Tim Cossar. “Our offer is extremely strong, with events such as the New Zealand International Sevens, Cuba Street Carnival, Vodafone X-Air and Asia Pacific Festival giving people numerous reasons to visit.”
February also saw a 16.8% growth in international visitor guest nights for Wellington. “New Zealand has witnessed a very strong international visitor season, and it’s great to see that Wellington has had a growing slice of this action,” Tim says.
Wellington’s performance in the international visitor market was slower last winter, on the back of the British and Irish Lions tour the year before. But the capital has since gained ground in this market, posting an 8.9% increase in international guest nights since December 2006.
Tim says the February result also follows strong domestic market growth over the past six months. “We’ve really kept our eye on this market, as we believe it’s vitally important to any visitor destination.”
“Wellington has come a long way over the past decade. From being seen as perhaps grey and a little dull, we are now one of the country’s top visitor destinations. We’ve really worked to develop a great line-up of events, and are widely regarded to be the arts and culture capital. It’s fantastic to see that Wellington has matured, to become a visitor destination in its own right.”
