Aussies help drive NZ hotel activity – Horwath HTL

19th May 2025 By Staff Reporter | news@propertyticker.co.nz | @propertyticker

Tourism New Zealand’s Everyone must go! campaign may have helped drive visitors from Australia up by 11% in April 2025, says Horwath HTL.

The consultancy’s latest New Zealand Hotel Performance Focus showed the New Zealand hotel market recorded a 2.9% increase in revenue per available room last month compared to April 2024.

“The month also marked the first major holiday period following the launch of the Everyone must go! campaign by Tourism New Zealand, designed to increase visitation from Australia during the off-peak season,” Horwath HTL said.

“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%.”

Excluding the major metropolitan markets Auckland and Wellington, RevPAR grew by 8.5%, “with robust performances observed in Queenstown, Dunedin, Nelson/Marlborough, and Rotorua”.

“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.” 

Queenstown topped the performance rankings with RevPAR climbing 17% year-on-year.

“The 4.5–5 star segment [in Queenstown] recorded a significant 22% year-on-year increase in average daily rate (ADR) with rates averaging $405 for these premium properties, driving the overall 15% rise ADR for the market. Occupancy in this segment reached close to 78%,” Horwath HTL said.

However, Auckland RevPAR declined by 5%.

“Room nights sold increased by 2% year-on-year [in Auckland] but occupancy levels declined to 63.7% following a 6% supply increase over the past 12 months.

“The 5-star segment stood out with a 5% RevPAR increase, supported by a rise in occupancy to just over 70%. This contrasted with double-digit RevPAR declines among 4- and 4.5-star properties.”

Horwath HTL’s latest New Zealand Hotel Performance Focus can be read here.