A total of 15 of the 19-strong group, representing major Wakatipu hotels, met at Tanoa Aspen Hotel earlier this month, when confidential national monthly statistics for January were discussed. The figures were drawn from and released to council members and paying subscribers.
"Queenstown normally rocks ahead of everybody but, in actual fact, Queenstown hasn't done as well as you would've liked in January," the council's Queenstown chairwoman, Penny Clark, also general manager of Goldridge Resort, said.
"We're slightly down as hoteliers. I was surprised when I saw the figures, I thought we'd probably be the same as last year. We were OK for December; we were up."
When asked to compare Queenstown hotel council members' occupancy rates during the past few Januarys, Ms Clark said 2008 was a good January across the board. However, 2009 was "disastrous - well and truly slipped back. Then last year clawed back quite well and you could see what I call steady growth ... But we haven't got back to 2008 yet."
Some council members were concerned because they could not put a "finger on the situation", Ms Clark said.
"It's erratic, because some of us are going to have good Februarys, some are going to have bad Februarys, and the same thing applies in March, and vice versa."
Occupancy rates in hotels around the country had been "reasonable", but it was not the same for Queenstown, she said.
The figures confirmed numbers of United Kingdom visitors to New Zealand had declined.
"January, February, March is the time of the year the UK market generally travels. I think the English tours have dropped; the English FIT (free and independent traveller) market, who are not having a major recession drama, I think they are probably still travelling."
The European market had not decreased, but not grown either, and there had been no major growth in any other overseas market, Ms Clark said.
"I'm guessing we're going to have some impact from the Australians. It's not coming through in the January figures about the Australians being down, but there's certainly not what I call growth.
"I think it's a combination of their weather problems, and the exchange rate doesn't necessarily suggest you come rushing over to New Zealand at the moment. If you are travelling, the exchange rate is quite good to go long-haul and you might decide you can go to New Zealand any old time."
Despite the disappointing January figures, members were feeling "quietly positive" about February's results, Ms Clark said. They assumed guests would continue to book at the last minute and they sought more communication with airlines regarding passenger loadings.
The Rugby World Cup, from September 9 to October 23, was expected to bring 85,000 visitors to the country. Many British tourists were thought to be postponing their New Zealand trip until the tournament.
"We've got the winter games on and Trenz here in town, so there's a lot of things to be positive about for the entire year," Ms Clark said.
