Camping grounds contacted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday all had limited capacity for this weekend but were almost fully booked for the Christmas and New Year period.
Arrowtown Camping Ground manager Vicki Robertson said the park was ''fully booked'' for Christmas-New Year.
This year, camping sites cost $38 per night for two people and an extra $15 for an extra adult and $10 for a child (13 and under), with some sites still available for the upcoming long weekend.
The Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park, at Arthurs Point, also had capacity this weekend, but was close to being booked out over the peak festive season.
Assistant manager Lorna Martin said there was some capacity left for Christmas, while over New Year ''we really don't have anything''.
Prices for powered sites at present started from $48, while over the peak summer period they started at $52.
Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park manager Peter Coppens said there were still some camping sites available over the Christmas period, however, ''we're being very discerning about who we're letting in''.
''We are keeping some spaces vacant for our international visitors.
''There's a lot of pressure on because there's no youth park this year ... the council have decided, in their wisdom, not to have a youth park, so we'll watch this space and see what happens, I suppose.''
Sites this year cost $27.50 per person for powered and $22 for non-powered.
Meanwhile the area's newest camping ground - Mrs Woolly's, in Glenorchy - will open for the summer season on Saturday.
The pop-up camping ground opened for the first time last year on the site of the old Glenorchy holiday park, catering for holidaymakers over the summer while the new Camp Glenorchy was being built.
Manager Debbie Crompton said there was good occupancy last year and increased demand was already evident for 2016-17.
The park had 36 unpowered sites for tenting, camper vans or caravans and three ''glamping'' tents. The tents boast a king-size bed and two twin bed configurations.
Hiring a luxury glamping tent costs $150 per night, with a two-night minimum stay, while all other sites cost $30 per night for up to two people, with an additional $15 per extra adult or $10 per extra child, and up to a maximum of six people per site.
