As the long, successful summer draws to a close, holiday parks are encouraging New Zealanders to get out and enjoy one more long weekend break.
“The continuing sunny weather is a good excuse to take the family away for a short break this Anzac weekend. It’s even still warm enough to camp,” Holiday Accommodation Parks Association of New Zealand (HAPNZ) chief executive Fergus Brown said.
“There is plenty of space available in sites, cabins and motel units. But it will definitely pay to check availability on websites.”
The tourism boom has seen holiday parks exceed seven million guest nights a year for the first time and the sector is feeling optimistic, Brown said.
Guest nights for holiday parks were up 10.2 percent for the month of February, giving holiday parks a 5.9 percent increase in guest nights for the year ended February 2016, he said.
The latest Holiday Parks Business Confidence Monitor for March/April 2016 shows confidence remains high. It increased one point from February/March to +85, indicating that 85 percent of respondents are currently more optimistic than pessimistic.
This is two points higher than the same period in 2015, reflecting the recent strong business activity.
The Holiday Parks Business Confidence Monitor surveys HAPNZ’s 300 members.
The early timing for Easter 2016 has resulted in March/April demand being up on the same time last year but forecast demand for the coming month is lower.
Confidence for the next 12 months decreased three points to +81, as a result of an increase in the number of respondents reporting a neutral outlook for the year ahead.
