Welcome to the Tourism Waitaki Data Dashboard, your gateway to understanding the trends and dynamics of tourism in our region.
Here, we provide real-time data and analytics to help stakeholders, local businesses, and curious visitors gain a deeper understanding of Waitaki’s tourism landscape.
March 2026 Insights
International visitors lift while domestic demand holds soft
A strong international tailwind lifted Waitaki's overall visitor sector performance in March, even as domestic visitation softened. Total visitor days grew ▲+7% YoY while visitor nights rose faster (▲+10% YoY), suggesting a shift toward more overnight stays over day trip visitation. Visitor spending outpaced visitation (▲+11% YoY), pointing to higher average spend per visitor, and tourism-related employment reinforced the picture with filled jobs up ▲+12% YoY.
International arrivals provide all the growth while domestic overnight visitors hold ground
The two visitor segments told sharply different stories this month. International visitor days surged ▲+42% YoY while domestic visitor days dipped ▼-2% YoY, making the international segment the entire source of Waitaki's growth. International visitors also stayed longer: monthly unique international visitor numbers surged ▲+33% YoY, but significantly behind the visitor day growth indicating longer stays on average. International visitor nights grew ▲+39% YoY well ahead of international guest nights (▲+14% YoY), suggesting a shift to non-commercial accommodation options. International visitor spending jumped ▲+27% YoY, well above the national benchmark (▲+16% YoY). Domestic metrics were subdued but not weak: domestic visitor nights held flat (↔ 0% YoY) despite the dip in visitor days, suggesting overnight domestic visitors maintained their presence even as day trip numbers softened, and domestic spending still grew ▲+7% YoY, ahead of the national benchmark (▲+4% YoY), indicating meaningful lift in per visitor yield.
Solid overall growth driven entirely by overseas arrivals in a drive market destination
International visitors lifted Waitaki to solid overall growth, compensating for a mild domestic pullback. Total visitor days grew ▲+7% YoY, with international visitor days surging ▲+42% YoY (4th on the South Island) while domestic visitor days softened ▼-2% YoY. Visitor nights grew slightly faster than visitor days domestic but not international visitors, indicating a rising share of overnight visitors. The monthly unique international visitor count grew significantly more slowly (▲+33% YoY) than visitor-day growth, indicating that international visitors spent more time in-region on average.
Asian markets reshape the international mix as a key domestic source declines structurally
Domestically, the two top tier markets (Canterbury at 43% share and Otago at 28% share) diverged sharply. Canterbury held nearly flat (▼-1% YoY), continuing to anchor Waitaki's domestic base, while Otago contracted ▼-16% YoY with the quarter ending trend (▼-17% YoY) confirming this as a structural decline rather than a timing shift. Waitaki's international source mix reshuffled substantially toward Asian markets, while the top domestic sources diverged. Among international visitors, China, Japan & Korea (42% share) recorded exceptional growth (▲+113% YoY) from an expanding base, and Rest of Asia (20% share) surged ▲+75% YoY, together pushing the top tier average well above the overall international growth rate. Europe (16% share) held essentially flat (▼-1% YoY) on the month, though the quarter ending picture (▲+10% YoY) suggests European visitors arrived earlier in the quarter rather than declining structurally. Australia (13% share) jumped ▲+29% YoY. USA & Canada (6% share) contracted ▼-26% YoY, a structural weakness confirmed by the quarter ending trend (▼-25% YoY).
Supermarket spending outpaces restaurant dining in a clear domestic self-catering signal
Domestic visitors chose supermarkets over dining out, the clearest behavioural signal in the spend data this month. Retail Sales Alcohol, Food & Beverages jumped ▲+18% YoY domestically while Food & Beverage Serving Services contracted ▼-5% YoY, a pattern consistent with visitors provisioning at the supermarket rather than eating out. Fuel & Other Automotive Products surged ▲+24% YoY overall (▲+21% YoY domestic) amid the fuel crisis and consistent with Waitaki's status as a drive market destination. Accommodation led total spend growth (▲+13% YoY, 27% share), with the international contribution (▲+32% YoY) well ahead of domestic (▲+11% YoY). International visitors lifted every product category, with gains ranging from ▲+15% YoY in Cultural, Recreation & Gambling Services to ▲+32% YoY in Accommodation and Fuel, reflecting the broad volume effect of the international visitor surge rather than any single category standout.
Domestic spending grows ahead of the benchmark despite softer visitor numbers arriving
Domestic visitor spending grew ahead of the national pace despite soft visitation, suggesting higher average spend per visitor. Domestic spend rose ▲+7% YoY against a national benchmark of ▲+4% YoY, and the rolling 12 month trend (▲+6% YoY) confirms this is consistent rather than a one month anomaly. Canterbury (55% share) underpinned the result with spend up ▲+7% YoY, while Otago (20% share) grew only marginally (▲+1% YoY), a softer contribution consistent with the structural decline in Otago visitor days flagged in the visitation data. Auckland (▲+34% YoY, 5% share) and Waikato (▲+32% YoY, 3% share) both recorded strong growth although from smaller bases, suggesting increased long haul domestic interest. Wellington (2% share) was the notable exception, contracting ▼-24% YoY. The divergence between declining domestic visitor days (▼-2% YoY) and growing spend points to visitors spending more per trip, consistent with a higher share of overnight visitors who typically spend more than day trippers.
Long-haul spending surges but a changing visitor mix dilutes average yield per head
International visitor spending jumped ▲+27% YoY, outpacing the national benchmark (▲+16% YoY) and consistent with the strong international visitation growth. The United States (35% share) led the market, jumping ▲+71% YoY, and Rest of Asia (8% share) grew ▲+74% YoY, consistent with the Asian visitor surge visible in the visitation data. Rest of Europe (10% share, ▲+5% YoY) and United Kingdom (9% share, ▲+1% YoY) grew modestly, while Australia (18% share) was the standout underperformer, contracting ▼-8% YoY despite visitor day growth of ▲+29% YoY, which may reflect lower per visit budgets among Australian visitors this month. Germany (4% share) also contracted ▼-18% YoY. Spend growth (▲+27% YoY) fell short of visitor day growth (▲+42% YoY), which may reflect the changing market mix: the rapid expansion of Asian markets appears to have diluted average international spend per visitor even as total volumes climbed. The rolling 12 month trend (▲+15% YoY) confirms sustained momentum.
Tighter supply and growing demand lift occupancy as the sector edges toward capacity
Commercial accommodation demand grew modestly, with international visitors doing the heavy lifting. Total guest nights rose ▲+5% YoY, slightly above the national benchmark (▲+4% YoY), driven by a combination of more arrivals (▲+2% YoY) and longer stays (average length of stay ▲+3% YoY to 1.6 nights). International guest nights jumped ▲+14% YoY while domestic guest nights held flat (↔ 0% YoY). Occupancy reached 59% (▲+2%pt. YoY), aided by a slight contraction in available capacity (▼-1% YoY).
Small motels run at the highest occupancy while lodges pivot to international guests
Small motels led commercial accommodation growth with guest nights up ▲+13% YoY, driven entirely by domestic visitors: domestic guest nights at Motels & Apartments (6 to 20) jumped ▲+16% YoY while international guest nights held flat (↔ 0% YoY). Hotels also performed well, with guest nights growing ▲+8% YoY on relatively balanced contributions from both domestic (▲+5% YoY) and international (▲+9% YoY) guests. Occupancy at small motels reached 91% (▲+6%pt. YoY), the highest of any property type, while Hotels ran at 84% (▲+4%pt. YoY). Holiday Parks & Campgrounds (the largest segment at 38% of guest nights) grew more modestly (▲+4% YoY). Lodges showed a striking segment divergence: domestic guest nights contracted ▼-39% YoY while international guest nights surged ▲+49% YoY, consistent with the lodge segment pivoting toward international visitors, though occupancy still lifted sharply (▲+12%pt. YoY to 76%) driven by a strong decline in supply with available stay units down ▼-16% YoY.
Leading all peers on both jobs and earnings in a broad tourism workforce expansion
Waitaki posted the strongest tourism-related employment growth of any South Island RTO in March, ranking first for both filled jobs (▲+12% YoY) and tourism earnings (▲+30% YoY), well above the national benchmarks of ▲+1% YoY and ▲+8% YoY respectively. The growth was broad based but led by Accommodation, where filled jobs surged ▲+32% YoY. Food and Beverage Services (53% of filled jobs) grew jobs ▲+3% YoY. The experiential sectors also expanded: Recreation Services jumped ▲+18% YoY in jobs and Activity Services leaped ▲+20% YoY. Travel and Tour Services added jobs (▲+10% YoY) while Transport Services held flat on jobs. The rolling 12 month trend for filled jobs (▲+8% YoY) and earnings (▲+12% YoY) confirms the monthly result extends a sustained structural expansion rather than a one off spike.
