New Zealand holiday park's confidence rising

As holiday parks around New Zealand prepare for a busy Easter weekend, new research shows they are generally feeling optimistic about the future.

The latest Holiday Parks Business Confidence Monitor shows that holiday park owners' confidence is on the rise.

The business confidence index results indicate that 56% more respondents are currently optimistic than pessimistic. No respondents said they were 'very pessimistic'.

Holiday Parks Association New Zealand (HAPNZ) Chief Executive Fergus Brown explains "it's great to see that our business confidence is surging, up from 44% in December/January.

"The fantastic summer weather has definitely contributed to increased demand for holiday park facilities, with confidence for the next 12 months even higher at 59%."

The Holiday Parks Business Confidence Monitor, developed and managed by Angus & Associates*, surveys HAPNZ's 300 members.

Over half of the HAPNZ members completing the latest monitor said demand was up on the same time last year. 22% felt demand was about the same as February/March 2012, while 23% believed it had decreased.

Indicating healthy bookings for Easter and beyond, 32% of HAPNZ members expected demand to increase in March/April. Only 14% were predicting a decrease, while 43% expected no change.

Global economic conditions and the consequent lack of growth in key international visitor markets were considered the biggest factors holding back demand for holiday parks, the monitor showed.

Key facts about holiday parks in New Zealand:

The holiday park sector provides 38% of New Zealand's commercial accommodation capacity and 20% of actual guest nights;

In the past year holiday parks provided 6,325,431 guest nights;

Guest nights to holiday parks are made up of approximately 32% international visitors and 68% domestic visitors;

While staying at holiday parks guests contribute $733 million in direct expenditure to the local communities;

Approximately $372 million (51%) of the expenditure is contributed by domestic travellers, with the balance of $362 million (49%) by international travellers.

* Angus & Associates is a premier supplier of marketing, research and strategic planning services. They are focused on delivering informed insights for a range of private and public sector clients, particularly within the tourism and leisure sectors.

http://www.holidayparks.co.nz