While hoteliers, motel owners and holiday park owners are trying to remain positive things will pick up, bookings for December and January are well behind the usual numbers coming into the holiday season.
New Zealand Hotel Council Queenstown chairwoman Penny Clark said while it was no secret numbers had been down for the resort this year, things could only get better and the council would remain "relatively positive".
"It is hard to say things can get any worse from this year in 2012, but I'm clutching at wood when I say that."
Ms Clark said it was hard to predict whether the summer would bring Queenstown hoteliers good fortune, as there were too many variables and the marketplace was "erratic".
"One thing that is noticeable, is people are making bookings at the very last minute."
The council had gained confidence after seeing airlines making adjustments to bring direct flights to Queenstown, as well as evening flights.
"We are saying to ourselves the year to date has not been good and we are all looking ahead."
The resort suffered one of its worst September-October periods, with visitor numbers dropping 20% during the Rugby World Cup.
Queenstown Lakes District Council's Holiday Parks manager Greg Hartshorne, said bookings looked very "ordinary" for this time of year and he hoped it would soon pick up.
"I think there will be a late run at this stage, it is very slow right now," said Mr Hartshorne, who manages both the Arrowtown Born of Gold Holiday Park and the Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park.
He said the Christchurch earthquake and economic climate were the two biggest reasons for the lull, but hoped the usual late rush towards Christmas would help move things along.
Because the US dollar was weak against other currencies, Mr Hartshorne said he would not be surprised if Queenstown's "usual" tourists opted for the US instead.
Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park Creeksyde general manager Erna Spijkerbosch said although bookings looked "light" towards the end of January, there had been a small upsurge due to marketing campaigns from Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand.
"It is giving us a lift after the dip provided by the Rugby World Cup.
"New Year is a little bit lighter than what we would normally expect, but many campers don't prebook."
Mrs Spijkerbosch said she would remain positive six weeks out from the traditional busy period, as people had booked later every year.
She said of the bookings they already had received, there was a good mixture of domestic and international visitors.
Meanwhile, the Te Anau and Kingston Holiday Parks are on target for their usual summer influx of holidaymakers, with both parks booked in advance.
Te Anau Holiday Park office manager Dale Saunders said bookings were "about the same as normal". Most of their customers were regulars who booked the same site every year.
"We're only small, so it doesn't take much to fill us." Many of their visitors came from Gore and Invercargill.
The usual southern visitor had also proved reliable for the Kingston holiday park this year, said manager John Paul.
"We've got our regulars who have phoned in and reserved."
