This year an early Easter has caused a rise in holiday park guest nights. In March 2018 there were 188,000 more guest nights than in March last year, Stats NZ said.
“Two days of the Easter weekend falling in March this year was the most significant driver of guest night increases when compared with March 2017,” accommodation statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said. “Warm weather in March may have also been a factor.”
Good Friday fell on 30 March this year, meaning two days of Easter weekend were in March. Last year all of Easter weekend was in April. Total guest nights for all accommodation types rose by 8 percent in March 2018 compared to the quieter March 2017. Holiday parks saw the largest increase in guest nights. Kiwi's, in particular, nights increased with 135,000 more holiday park nights than last year, international guests also spending 52,000 more night than the previous March.
“Holiday park guest nights often spike and fall in the months of March and April due to the movement of Easter. This month’s increase is similar to what was seen in March 2016, when all of Easter fell in the month,” McKenzie said.
