Camping grounds lead increase in guest nights Total guest nights in short-term commercial

accommodation increased 7 percent in March 2008 comparedwith March 2007, Statistics New Zealand said today.

Guest nights for all five accommodation types wereup, led by a 24 percent increase for caravan parks/camping grounds.

The earlier occurrence of the Easterholidays in March, rather than April, may have contributed to this increase, although the exact effect isdifficult to measure.

In March 2008, guest nights were up 4 percent in the North Island and up 10 percent in the South Island.

Eleven of the 12 regions recorded higher guest nights.

Canterbury had the largest increase, followed by theWellington, Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman and Otago regions.Domestic guest nights were slightly higher than international guest nights in March 2008.

The Canterburyregion had the highest number of domestic guest nights while the Auckland region had the highest numberof international guest nights.

Geoff BascandGovernment Statistician

There is a companion Hot Off The Press information release published – Accommodation Survey: March2008