Summary:
Tourism data for July 2024, the middle of winter, portrayed a stable picture for the West Coast’s tourism sector. Visitor card spending by domestic visitors remained steady compared to July 2023 (YoY) while international card spend increased slightly and occupancy rates within the accommodation sector experienced slight declines.
International visitor card spending increased by +3% YoY, while guest nights remained steady at +1% YoY. International visitors showed a preference for dining out, with F&B serving products holding a larger market share compared to Retail F&B. This preference further grew over last year, with card spend on retail F&B only up by +3% YoY compared to F&B Serving products rising by +10% YoY.
Among the top 5 international markets contributing to international visitor card spending, visitors from the ‘Rest of Europe’ (encompassing all European markets excluding the UK and Germany) showed the highest growth at +21% YoY, followed by the USA at +19% YoY and the ‘Rest of Asia’ (encompassing all Asian markets excluding China, Japan and Korea) at +13% YoY. Despite Australia’s total expenditure decreasing by -10% YoY, they continued to account for the largest share of card spending.
Card spending by visitors from the ‘Rest of Europe’ increased across all product categories, with the most significant growth in Retail F&B, up by +27% YoY. This trend reflects an increasing preference among Europeans for self-catering over dining out when visiting the region.
In the domestic market, card spending remained stable over last year (-2% YoY), while accommodation usage dropped significantly by -19% YoY, indicating either an increase in the prevalence of day trips or increased average spend. The highest expenditure was in Retail F&B products, despite a slight decline of -2% YoY outpacing the -9% YoY decrease in domestic card spending on F&B Serving products, indicating an increasing preference for self-catering over dining out.
Among the top 10 regions contributing to domestic visitor spending on the West Coast, the highest growth in card spending from the North Island regions was observed in Waikato (+3% YoY), while spend by Aucklanders decreased significantly by -19% YoY. Among South Island regions, domestic visitor spending from Southland saw the highest overall growth, increasing by +7% YoY.
Occupancy rates in commercial accommodation experienced a modest decline of -2%pts, driven by a significant decline in total guest nights (-13% YoY), partially offset by decreases in available stay units (-4%). Similar declines in guest nights were observed across other CSI regions, ranging from -7% to -14% YoY.
Buller, Grey, and Westland Districts all faced declining trends in guest arrivals and guest nights. Nevertheless, Westland saw slight growth in the number of active establishments, with a +2% YoY increase.
Occupancy rates in short-term rentals fell by -6%pts YoY. Daily occupancy rates in short-term rental accommodation remained relatively consistent throughout the month, with a slight increase on weekends compared to weekdays and a slight but noticeable increase during the school holidays, peaking at 56% on Saturday, July 13th.