The arrival of thousands of international skiers is set to boost the domestic accommodation sector over the winter season, according to new data.
Latest figures from Bachcare, New Zealand’s largest holiday home management firm, show forward bookings for Queenstown and Wanaka during winter are up significantly over the previous year and pre-COVID levels.
The data shows bookings across the Southern Lakes region are currently up 67 per cent compared to last year and up 114 per cent compared to 2019. The number of nights sold are also up 66 per cent vs the previous year and up 120 per cent compared to 2019.
Holiday home rental accommodation in the Queenstown and Wanaka region during the July school holiday period is already at 81 per cent of capacity.
Bachcare head of revenue Nick Peirce says while international visitors numbers are expected to grow significantly over the coming weeks, some parts of the accommodation market in the Queenstown and Southern Lakes districts have been impacted by staff shortages throughout the region.
“What we can see from the latest data is traffic on our website from Australia is around 13 times higher than it was at the same time last year.
“We also know the holiday home rental is less impacted by labour shortages as they don't require staff for reception areas, food and beverage facilities and maintenance.
“Along with significantly increased trans-Tasman booking numbers, this reflects a growing confidence in the market that we are going to see a strong winter tourism season,” he says.
Nick says in contrast to our southern ski fields accommodation bookings around the Mt Ruapehu area are seeing a slower start to the ski season.
“Looking at properties around Mt Ruapehu, we can see July bookings are down 38 per cent compared to 2021, up 34 per cent compared to 2020 and flat compared to 2019.
“Last year, due to the ongoing border closures, guest commitment happened earlier than in previous years.
“With the border opening, demand for Ruapehu has reverted to the pre-COVID pattern.
“The difference between the North Island and Southern Lakes is down to Mt Ruapehu being almost entirely a domestic market, whereas Queenstown has direct flights into the area from Australia and therefore has attracted earlier international sales,” he says.
