Survey shows rail trail generates $7m locally

The Otago Central Rail Trail generates about $7 million for the local economy and creates the equivalent of 75 fulltime jobs each year.

Those figures were the outcome of the latest survey of the 152km trail between Clyde and Middlemarch, which about 10,000 people completed in the past 12 months.

An additional $3.6 million in gross domestic profit is also generated by the trail annually, according to the survey, which was commissioned by the Central Otago District Council.

District council business development manager Jonathan Gadd said the survey cost about $6000 and was undertaken in three stages between November and April.

Information centre staff from Ranfurly, Alexandra, and Cromwell were paid to conduct the survey on top of Seagull Hill near Wedderburn, which was the highest point on the trail and served as halfway between Clyde and Middlemarch.

Mr Gadd said the spot was chosen to survey people completing the whole trail rather than day-trippers, and it acted as a natural resting place for all trail users.

As well as highlighting benefits and attractions of the trail, the survey included suggestions for services or facilities not currently provided along the trail.

"I suspect it will be a very valuable bit of work for business operators, groups and any others involved in promoting the trail and earning an income off it," Mr Gadd said.

He said an economic impact of trail users had not previously been calculated, and while the $7 million figure was a welcome surprise, so too was information about people's experience of the tourist activity.

"It made absolutely no difference to people what time of year they did the trail, where they started from, or how long they spent doing it, in terms of how much they enjoyed it. Nor did it seem to matter how old they were or where they were from - in general, the trail was rated as a nine out of 10 experience."

Such findings meant people should get over the mindset that one time of year was better for completing the trail, Mr Gadd said.

"Nearly half of all people who do the trail complete it in March and April, so there's got to be a real benefit in getting people to come in other parts of the year," he said.

Mr Gadd will present a 50-page report on the survey to the council at its next meeting in Alexandra on June 24, when the document will become publicly available.

The survey was the first commissioned by the council on the trail, and was aimed at complementing surveys of associated business operators which were completed in 2005 and 2008 for the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust.