Latest Month Commentary:
The February data paints a positive picture for tourism on the West Coast. Most metrics point towards substantial growth in the sector, apparently driven by significant increase in international visitation, accompanied by good growth in domestic activity, although potentially more in the form of day trips than overnight stays.
Visitor spending (electronic card spend: +27% vs. Feb ‘23), overnight visitation (guest nights: +17%) and tourism employment (filled jobs: +9%, employment earnings: +25%) all exhibited significant growth.
Overnight stays and visitor spending by international tourists experienced notable growth at similar rates (electronic card spend: +38%, guest nights: + 33% vs. Feb ‘23).
Although spending by domestic visitors experienced a notable increase (+16% vs. Feb ‘23), there was a slight downturn in overnight stays (guest nights: -2%), hinting at a possible rise in day trips.
The robust growth in accommodation activity is further reflected by an increase in occupancy in both commercial and short-term rental accommodation (+7%pt and +5%pt vs. Feb ‘23, respectively), leading to an especially high average occupancy rate of 81% in short-term rentals.
More than half of visitor spending occurred in the Westland district, which also witnessed the most significant increase in overnight stays (guest nights: +21% vs. Feb ‘23). Interestingly, the Grey district was the sole district to observe growth in domestic overnight stays (guest nights: +6%), which is potentially related to business travel.
The biggest growth in tourism employment was observed in the ‘Transport Services’ sector where employment earnings more than doubled (filled jobs: +21% vs. Feb ‘23, employment earnings: +128% vs. Feb ‘23).
Occupancy in short-term rentals provides insight into daily activity within the region. Overall occupancy remained relatively stable and notably high throughout the month. Peak occupancy occurred on the 9th of Feb at 92%, coinciding with the Kathmandu Coast to Coast race.