Wellington visitor numbers at all-time high

  • 20/06/2016
Wellington visitor numbers at all-time high

The ever-increasing tourist numbers around the country are helping Wellington visitor numbers to reach an all-time high.

The Wellington City Council says a number of popular events have increased tourist numbers and the number of hotel nights spent in the city.

The chair of the Economic Growth and Arts Committee, Jo Coughlan, says the numbers are encouraging.

"We've seen some significant increase in commercial guest nights in the city, which in fact are up nearly 8 percent on last year, sitting at around 750,000 commercial guest nights. For us it's the highest ever quarterly total."

The weekend's All Blacks versus Wales Test is one of a string of events sending Wellington visitor numbers through the roof.

Ms Coughlan says Wellington has been busy.

"We've had a lot of great events in the last quarter, including the New Zealand Festival, the Tattoo [Expo]. We've had CubaDupa, the Sevens. It's really reassuring that people are really attending these events; they're coming from outside the region."

Ms Coughlan says the city will need another 1500 beds to cope with the increase in numbers.

"I think it's exciting times. We're definitely looking for investment in new hotels in the city and the region, and it's very good news in terms of our tourism numbers."

Newshub.