west coast visitor trends april 2021

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Prepared by ChristchurchNZ for Development West Coast

West Coast Visitor Trends April 2021

Key figures:

Average daily visitors: 4,367

Monthly ECT visitor spend: $15.8m

Average daily spend: $530k

Average daily spend per visitor: $120.58

Average length of stay: 1.6 nights

Accommodation occupancy rate: 35%

Airbnb occupancy rate: 57%

April 2019 will be used as the comparison month in this month’s report as April 2020 was largely

spent in lockdown. As a result, comparisons to April 2020 are significantly skewed.

Visitor numbers

Dataventures figures capture the average number of visitors in a region each day at midday. An

average of 4,367 visitors were in the West Coast region per day in April 2021. This was -40% less

than in April 2019, equivalent to a reduction of 2,960 average daily visitors. Domestic visitor

numbers were down -32% from April 2019 (a reduction of 1,774 average daily visitors) and

international visitor numbers down -67% (a reduction of 1,186 average daily visitors).

Visitor numbers for April 2021 peaked on the Saturday of Easter weekend at 8,427 average daily

visitors.

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1/04 3/04 5/04 7/04 9/04 11/04 13/04 15/04 17/04 19/04 21/04 23/04 25/04 27/04 29/04

Average daily visitors, West Coast (April)Source: Dataventures

Total 2019 Total 2021

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Average daily visitors for the YE April 2021 were down -26% on the YE April 2020. Average daily

domestic visitors were -4% less than that of the YE April 2020. Daily international visitors were down

an average of -67% compared to the previous 12-month period.

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May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April

Average daily visitors, West Coast (YE April)Source: Dataventures

Total 19/20 Total 20/21

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6000

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April

Average daily visitors by type, West Coast (YE April)Source: Dataventures

International 19/20 International 20/21 Domestic 19/20 Domestic 20/21

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Visitor Spending

Visitor spending data is sourced from MarketView, which captures electronic card transaction (ECT)

data on the Paymark network. This does not include cash spending, online pre-purchases or

payments outside of the Paymark network. Figures should be treated as an indicator of trends in ECT

spending only, and not as a proxy for total tourism spending.

Monthly ECT visitor spending in the West Coast RTO region in April 2021 was $15.8m, down -10%

from April 2019. ECT spending by domestic visitors made up $14.9m of this, up 46% on April 2019.

International ECT visitor spend for the month was $905k, down -88% on April 2019.

Westland District made up $6.6m or 42% of the regions monthly ECT visitor spend, followed by

Buller District at $4.7m or 30% and Grey District at $4.5m or 28%.

When looking at monthly ECT visitor spending ranked by share of nationwide spend, Development

West Coast sat at 18th out of 36 RTOs with 1.5% of the total market.

When comparing average ECT transaction values by RTO, Development West Coast was 7th out of 36

with an average transaction value of $51.70. The average ECT transaction value across all RTOs was

$48.54.

Average daily ECT visitor spending for April 2021 was $529,581. Combining this with Dataventures

average daily visitor numbers produces an estimated average daily ECT spend per visitor of $120.58.

Daily ECT visitor spending was highest on Saturday the 3rd of April (Easter weekend) at $1.1m.

Visitors from Canterbury made up the largest share of ECT visitor spending in the West Coast in April

2021, followed by visitors from Auckland, Otago, Wellington and Tasman.

$10.2m

$7.4m

$17.6m

$1.8m

$240k

$2m

$14.9m

$905k

$15.8m

$-

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

$16,000,000

$18,000,000

$20,000,000

Domestic International Overall

ECT visitor spending, West Coast (April)Source: Marketview

Apr-19 Apr-20 Apr-21

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ECT visitor spending for the YE April 2021 was $141.6m, down -10% or -$15.2m from that of the YE

April 2020. Domestic ECT visitor spending for the YE April 2021 was $133.5m, up 64% or $52m

compared to the 12-month previous period. Monthly ECT spending by international visitors was

$8m, down -90% or $67m on the YE April 2020.

$-

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

$6,000,000

Domestic visitor spend by region of customer origin, West Coast (April 2021)

Source: Marketview

$-

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

$1,200,000

1/04 3/04 5/04 7/04 9/04 11/04 13/04 15/04 17/04 19/04 21/04 23/04 25/04 27/04 29/04

Daily ECT visitor spend, West Coast (April 2021)Source: Marketview

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$-

$5,000,000

$10,000,000

$15,000,000

$20,000,000

$25,000,000

$30,000,000

ECT visitor spending, West Coast (YE April)Source: Marketview

Total 19/20 Total 20/21

$-

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

$16,000,000

$18,000,000

ECT visitor spending, West Coast (YE April)Source: Marketview

Domestic 19/20 International 19/20 Domestic 20/21 International 20/21

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Regional Hotspots

The below table shows monthly and yearly spend figures for hotspot locations within the West Coast

region. Spending within these hotspots made up 67% of ECT visitor spending in the West Coast RTO

area, both in the YE April 2021 and in the month of April 2021.

Hotspot April 2021 spend

Change on April 2019

YE April 2021 spend

Change on YE April 2020

Westport $2.3m +22% $20.5m +21%

Reefton $778k +52% $6.8m +42%

Greymouth $3.8m +5% $37.4m +7%

Hokitika $1.6m +9% $17.7m +5%

Franz Josef $1.6m -44% $12.67m -49%

Outside of hotspots33%

Greymouth26%

Westport14%

Hokitika13%

Franz Josef9%

Reefton5%

DWC regional hotspots, share of ECT visitor spend (YE April 2021)Source: Marketview

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7%

+21%5%

-49%

+42%

$-

$5,000,000

$10,000,000

$15,000,000

$20,000,000

$25,000,000

$30,000,000

$35,000,000

$40,000,000

Greymouth Westport Hokitika Franz Josef Reefton

DWC regional hotspots by change in ECT visitor spendSource: Marketview

YE April 2020 YE April 2021

24%23%

20%19%

18%18%

15%15%15%

15%14%

13%13%

12%11%

11%10%

9%6%6%

5%3%

0%-2%-2%-2%-2%-3%

-6%-8%

-9%-10%

-21%-26%-26%

-31%

-40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30%

Destination WairarapaActivate Tairawhiti

Visit HurunuiTararua

Destination CoromandelVisit Whanganui

Hawke's Bay TourismTourism Bay of Plenty

Northland IncManawatu RTO Region

RangitikeiNelson RTO Region

Destination Great Lake TaupoVenture Taranaki

Destination MarlboroughAoraki Tourism

Tourism Central OtagoLake Wanaka Tourism

Destination CluthaHorowhenua

Tourism WaitakiHamilton & Waikato Tourism

Enterprise DunedinChristchurchNZ

Visit RuapehuWaimate

Venture SouthlandDestination Kaikoura

KawerauWellingtonNZ

Destination RotoruaDevelopment West Coast

Mackenzie RegionAuckland RTO Region

Destination QueenstownDestination Fiordland

RTO spend change, YE April 21 vs YE April 20Source: Marketview

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Accommodation

65,300 recorded guest arrivals spent 100,100 guest nights in commercial accommodation in the

West Coast RTO area in April 2021. Of these guest nights, 54% were spent in the Westland District,

24% in Buller District and 23% in Grey District. Guest nights spent on the West Coast made up 3.3%

of total guest nights in NZ for the month.

The average occupancy rate for the region was 35%. Average occupancy was highest in Grey District

at 40%, followed by Westland District at 34% and Buller District at 33%. This was below the national

average of 47% occupancy. The average length of stay was 1.6 nights, also below the national

average of 2.1 nights.

-21%

-10%

-3% -2%

20%

-25.0%

-20.0%

-15.0%

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

Mackenzie Region DevelopmentWest Coast

DestinationKaikoura

ChristchurchNZ Visit Hurunui

Central South Island, spend change by RTO YE April 21 vs YE April 20

Source: Marketview

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Guest nights/arrivals, West CoastSource: Accommodation Data Programme

Guest nights Guest arrivals

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Of the 145 registered accommodation establishments in the region, 134 identified as active.

Airbnb

A total of 653 active rentals in the West Coast region were listed on Airbnb in April 2021. Of these,

45% were in Westland District, 35% in Buller District and 20% in Grey District. The average Airbnb

occupancy rate in the region in April 2021 was 57%.

Average daily rates by listing type are listed below. Percentages show the change in ADR in April

2021 from March 2021 (if any).

Average daily rates by listing type, West Coast Airbnb (April 2021)

District Entire home Private room Shared room

Westland District $159 -0.4% $140 -7% $39 +3%

Buller District $157 -2% $97 +2% $34 +2%

Grey District $132 -1% $85 -12% N/A

25% 26%

33% 32% 32%35%

40% 40%

55%

47%

42%

57%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Feb-21 Mar-21 Apr-21

Average occupancy, West Coast RTO (last six months)Source: ADP, AirDNA, CNZ

Commercial Airbnb

130 135 129 132 136 135 136 136 134 134 134

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120

140

160

Accommodation establishments, West CoastSource: Accommodation Data Programme

Establishments Active establishments

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Airbnb revenue for the month totaled at $1.4m in the West coast region, down -4% from April 2019

and up 55% from April 2020. The top earning properties in the region for April 2021 were Drifting

Sands in Hokitika; Rainforest Retreat in Franz Josef and rooms within Hokitika Fire Station Boutique

Accommodation.

The average booking lead time for West Coast Airbnb listings booked for April 2021 was 46 days.

This was significantly lower than the average booking lead time for April 2020, which was 76 days.

Booking lead times were longest for listings in the Buller District at 60 days; followed by 40 days in

Grey District and 38 days in Westland District.

$-

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

Monthly Airbnb revenue, West Coast (YE April)Source: AirDNA

2019/20 2020/21

76

26

1621

2732

43

55

70

5963

4146

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30

40

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60

70

80

Average booking lead time, West Coast (YE April)Source: AirDNA

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Triptech

Triptech is a travel technology company that generates data from users of apps for car hire

companies, accommodation, and RV hire companies, including CamperMate. Triptech data captures

the movements of a proportion of the visitor population (e.g. a proportion of visitors tending to use

campervans and rental cars), and should not be treated as a representation of the entire visitor

population.

Visitor Movements- Prior & Next Regions

Prior and next regions show the RTO areas that Triptech users who visited the West Coast in April

2021 were ‘pinged’ in immediately before and after visiting. This provides insight into direction of

travel and patterns in visitor movements. The below tables show the top five regions that users were

‘pinged’ during the month of April before or after visiting the West Coast region.

Top five ‘prior’ regions- West Coast April 2021

Christchurch 37%

Nelson Tasman 28%

Wanaka 20%

Queenstown 2%

Central Otago 2%

Top five ‘next’ regions- West Coast April 2021

Christchurch 37%

Nelson Tasman 30%

Wanaka 19%

Marlborough 2%

Queenstown 2%

By district:

Looking at prior and next regions for Triptech users travelling through districts on the West Coast in

April 2021 shows that there was a fairly even split between those users travelling north to south and

those travelling south to north. Users travelling to and from the eastern side of the South Island

were proportionally lower.

In the Buller and Grey Districts, a higher proportion of visitors came in from the south, with 38%

travelling into Buller from Grey and 44% into Grey from Westland (vs 32% and 34% from the north

respectively). In Westland District (with a higher number of Triptech visitors overall) a higher

proportion of users travelled in from the north with 35% coming in from Grey. This compares to the

29% of users who travelled from Queenstown.

The proportion of users ‘pinged’ on the eastern side of the South Island prior to the West Coast was

lower in all districts, with 19% located in Hurunui prior to visiting Buller District; 7% in Selwyn prior

to visiting Grey District and 17% in Selwyn prior to visiting Westland District.

In Buller and Grey Districts there was a fairly even split between those who travelled north after

visiting each district and those who travelled south. 36% left Buller and went north into Tasman

District, while 32% went south into Grey. Of those who visited Grey District, 39% travelled north into

Buller and 38% went south into Westland. Those travelling east were again proportionally lower,

with 20% located in the Hurunui after leaving Buller and 6% located in Selwyn after leaving Grey. A

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higher proportion of users travelled north after leaving Westland District, with 39% travelling north

into Grey vs 28% who travelled to Queenstown. 17% went east into Selwyn from Westland.

Overnight stay locations

The below map shows popular overnight stay locations for users in April 2021. Clusters were

detected at the following locations: Hokitika (21%); Franz Josef (19%); Greymouth (18%); Westport

(13%); Haast (7%); Punakaiki (6%); Reefton (6%); Moana/Lake Brunner (4%); between Hector and

Seddonville (5%); and Karamea (3%).

The below map shows the location of all overnight stays by Triptech users in April 2021.

west coast visitor trends april 2021

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