Waitaki shines in tourism figures

$The sky\\u2019s the limit for Ethan Conlan, 6 at the time, at the Moeraki Boulders (Kaihinaki) on January 8. Tourism Waitaki is now celebrating increases in visitation numbers that are outpacing most of the rest of the country. PHOTO: JANELLE CONLAN$

The sky’s the limit for Ethan Conlan, 6 at the time, at the Moeraki Boulders (Kaihinaki) on January 8. Tourism Waitaki is now celebrating increases in visitation numbers that are outpacing most of the rest of the country. PHOTO: JANELLE CONLAN

Nic DuffReporter

Thursday, September 10, 2026

PHOTO

Growth in visitor spending in the Waitaki trailed only Auckland after nearly $150 million was spent by visitors to the southern district over the last year, new data shows.

The figures, published in the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’s Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates, show $146.5 million was spent in Waitaki in the 2025-26 financial year.

It was an increase of 15.8% on the previous year — more than three times the national average for visitor spend growth of 4.6%.

A statement from Tourism Waitaki noted the Waitaki ranked second among the 31 Regional Tourism Organisation areas in the country for spend growth behind only Auckland.

The district also bucked the trend in terms of both domestic and international visitors, it said.

Domestic visitors spent $119m in Waitaki, a 12.5% increase, which came during a period where domestic spending across the country fell by 0.2%.

International spend hit $27m, up 33%, well ahead of the national international growth rate of 13.7%.

Accommodation spending also rose 28.1% to $55.1m.

Tourism Waitaki tourism director Hamish Saxton told Allied Media he was stoked with the figures.

"It bodes well for the coming season and it reflects the work done and also the experiences the Waitaki region has to offer.

"We’ve got great experiences that people are willing to stay longer for and spend a bit more on.”

International visitors played a big role when visiting outside peak seasons.

"The return and growth of some of our emerging markets [through] those international flights that have been coming directly to Christchurch and seeing a return to growth from our Chinese, Korean and South East Asian markets have been able to help some of our businesses weather the lower seasons more adequately.”

He was optimistic the growth could continue.

“We'd love to see continued increase in visitor spend.

"A combination of increased awareness through promotional activity, as well as high-profile activity such as the Netflix East of Eden series with filming locations tied to the district, is serving to put Waitaki on the must-do list more than ever before."