Guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation fell 8.9 per cent in July compared to the previous month due to fewer domestic and international travellers.

Results from an accommodation survey by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) released today show the drop follows an improvement in guest nights in the previous two months.

The monthly figure was significantly impacted by the 11 per cent drop in domestic guest nights. The largest regional falls were in Auckland (down 16 per cent), Bay of Plenty (down 18 per cent) and Wellington (down 13 per cent). The West Coast was the only region to record an increase (up 4.1 per cent).

International guest nights fell 3.8 per cent. The largest falls were in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington. Auckland showed a moderate increase.

Guest nights fell for all accommodation types. Hotel guest nights fell 12 per cent, motels 8.3 per cent, backpacker accommodation 6.3 per cent, and holiday parks 5.3 per cent.

International guest nights were high in Otago in July due to the ski season as the regional includes Queenstown and Wanaka.

SNZ said International Travel and Migration statistics showed 173,500 short-terms visitors arrived in New Zealand in July, down 3.4 per cent on June.

The national trend for guest nights has been generally declining since December 2009, SNZ said.

"The trend for domestic guest nights is relatively flat in 2012 while the international guest nights trend appears to be rising since a low point in March this year," it said.

- © Fairfax NZ News