An uptick in Australian visitors to New Zealand has helped drive a 2.9% RevPAR increase across the nation’s hotels during the month of April, according to Horwath HTL and Hotel Council Aotearoa data.
The latest report, New Zealand Hotel Performance Focus, shows that this growth was achieved despite ongoing declines in key urban markets such as Auckland and Wellington.
“Excluding these major centres, RevPAR growth accelerated to 8.5%, with robust performances observed in Queenstown, Dunedin, Nelson/Marlborough, and Rotorua,” the report reads.
“These destinations benefited notably from a holiday period that extended the traditional summer season, as the overlap of Easter and Anzac Day with the school holidays boosted demand across regional locations.”
April also marked the first major holiday period following the launch of the “Everyone Must Go” campaign by Tourism New Zealand, which was created to increase visitation from Australia during the off-peak season.
“This initiative appears to have contributed to an estimated 11% increase in rooms sold to Australians compared to April 2024, according to reports from Hotel Data New Zealand (HDNZ). Overall, the reports indicate that rooms sold to international visitors rose by around 9% year-on-year, while domestic visitation declined by circa 3%,” the report reads.
“Border crossing data published by Stats NZ underscores this trend, showing that international arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens were 11% higher than in April 2024. Arrivals from Australia increased by 24,996 (19%), followed by the United States and China.Â
“Despite these gains, total international arrivals remained 13% below pre-pandemic levels recorded in April 2019. Conversely, outbound travel by New Zealand residents saw a 6.6% increase on the previous year, with Australia, China, and Japan emerging as the most popular destinations.”
The number of New Zealand residents travelling overseas in April matched the levels seen in April 2019, with Queenstown once again topping the performance rankings with RevPAR climbing 17% year-on-year.
“The 4.5–5 star segment recorded a significant 22% year-on-year increase in Average Daily Rate (ADR) with rates averaging NZ$405 for these premium properties, driving the overall 15% rise ADR for the market. Occupancy in this segment reached close to 78%.
“A 23% decline in domestic room nights sold was offset by a 20% surge in sales to international guests, notably those arriving from Australia and the United States, reflecting a marked shift to a higher-yielding visitor mix. The month also benefitted from higher yielding group business and the presence of film crews. The transition towards premium accommodation and greater international demand underpinned Queenstown’s strong result for April.”