Guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation fell more than 5% in March.
The drop was mainly due to fewer international visitors in the earthquake-hit Canterbury region and throughout the South Island.
Canterbury guest nights fell 30% - by far the largest regional decrease.
Guest nights in North Island accommodation rose, led by an 8% increase in Auckland and a 4% increase in Wellington.
Nationally, domestic guest nights fell 2.8%, while international guest nights were down 24%.
Hotels and backpacker accommodation had the largest decreases, down 11% and 8% respectively, due to decreases in Canterbury guest nights.
