Welcome to the Destination Kaikōura Data Dashboard, providing real-time data & analytics helping stakeholders & local businesses understand the trends and dynamics of tourism in our beautiful region.
July 2025 Insights:
Kaikōura enjoys domestic-led rise amid South Island dips
July was a positive month for Kaikōura, with Destination Kaikōura recording impressive growth in commercial accommodation guest nights. This growth was driven by a rise in both guest arrivals and average stay length. Notably, this increase was primarily driven by the domestic market, which grew significantly and ran counter to the trend of declines seen in most other South Island RTOs. This strong performance was supported by a similar rise in tourism-related employment for the month.
Domestic spend lags, international outlay grows
A decrease in total domestic card spend (-4% YoY) when compared with the domestic guest night increase of +15% YoY suggested that either the relative average spend had decreased, or the prevalence of day trip visitation. The international card spend increase of +13% YoY against the international guest night rise of +1% YoY suggested an increase in average spend—opposite to the trend in the domestic market—or the prevalence of day trip visitation.
More visitors, domestic and international, shift to self-catering
When segmenting card spend by product type, international card spend grew for all categories except for accommodation (-10% YoY), whilst domestic card spend by product produced mixed results. Food and beverage serving showed lesser growth for the international market (+12% YoY) and a greater contraction for the domestic market (-8% YoY) when compared to food and beverage retail (domestic: -4% YoY, international: +27% YoY). This observation suggested a growing preference toward self-catering over dining out for both domestic and international visitors.
Domestic spend slides as Canterbury dips, smaller regions grow
Domestic card spend declined by -4% YoY in July, just ahead of the national average (-5% YoY). This was partially driven by a significant decline in visitor spend from Canterbury, the largest domestic spend market (-9% YoY), and was offset most notably by Marlborough (+6% YoY), the Waikato (+9% YoY), and Manawatū-Whanganui (+20% YoY).
International spend rises, whilst Australia leads
International card spend grew by +13% YoY in July, outpacing the Canterbury RTO region (+8% YoY) and the national average (+3% YoY). The Australian market grew strongly by +41% YoY, retaining its position as the second-highest spend market (21% of total international spend) behind the US (28% of total), which grew by +5% YoY.
Kaikōura sees rising domestic nights offset by added capacity
Destination Kaikōura recorded significant growth in guest nights (+10% YoY) for July, whilst the occupancy rate remained unchanged (0%pt. YoY). This result was underpinned by increases in guest arrivals (+8% YoY) and average stay length (+2% YoY). However, a corresponding +13% YoY rise in available stay units offset any gains in occupancy that would have otherwise resulted from the increase in guest nights. In contrast to most other South Island RTO regions, which either experienced a general contraction or a notable rise specifically in international guest nights, Kaikōura’s growth was predominantly domestic, with guest nights from this market increasing by +15% YoY (compared to +1% YoY for international guest nights).
Lodges and boutiques rise, motels slip, international guest nights surge
An analysis of guest nights by accommodation type (excluding information on holiday parks and campgrounds) showed a decline for large and smaller motels and apartments (-18% YoY and -3% YoY, respectively), whilst lodges and boutique accommodation grew +10% YoY. For lodges and boutique accommodation, international guest nights grew substantially (+67% YoY), whilst domestic guest nights decreased significantly by -14% YoY.
Kaikōura’s accommodation sector drives stronger employment gains this year
Tourism-related employment increased by +3% YoY for the Kaikōura District in July, ahead of the national average (+1% YoY). This was driven primarily by growth in the accommodation sector (+20% YoY). While a data gap for July 2024 prevented a direct YoY comparison for travel and tour services, the sector showed an increase of approximately 15 filled jobs since August 2024 (+25%), surpassing a level comparable to July 2023.