"The numbers coming in from Australia have been very good. [It] appears to be up on last year," Mr Stevenson said.
He had had feedback from other trail operators around New Zealand and believed the current numbers were a reflection of the state of the economy.
The cost of domestic airfares was also affecting the numbers of domestic tourists taking to the rail trails, he believed.
"It’s just getting a bit harder and more expensive," he said.
This was a trend noticed by Big Sky Cycles co-owner John Crawford.
Despite there not being a final tally of visitor numbers for the season, he had noticed domestic tourist figures remained flat.
The cost of living and the cost of airfares had had an effect on domestic tourists and that was illustrated by the type of bikes visitors were renting, he said.
"Over the last few years, there had been steady demand for e-bikes, but this year there has been more demand for regular bikes, which are cheaper," Mr Crawford said.
Despite the quiet season, he was cautiously optimistic for next season as the numbers of forward bookings were looking positive.
For Nat Jameson, who became the owner of Alexandra’s Altitude Bikes a month ago, business has been good.
"We’ve found it pretty busy and people love the trails, so win-win I guess."
He believed that being a smaller, more niche operator had spared them from the issues other operators had been facing.
Altitude Bikes’ focus on smaller groups and more personal tours had resulted in a steady number of visitors, Mr Jameson said.
"Great to see people getting out there."
Things were going well and growth was not really a focus for Altitude Bikes, which would continue to serve the niche of smaller tourist groups, he said.
It is not just the rail trail tour operators that have noticed the numbers of tourists taking to the trails has remained roughly the same.
Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead property lead Leah Baldwin said she believed numbers were about the same as last year.
Despite that, she said it had been a decent season, but there was room for improvement as it was yet to rebound to pre-Covid numbers.
"I would say we’re reasonably happy with how it’s gone, but there’s definitely plenty of room for an increase."
Mr Stevenson said the Otago Central Rail Trail’s future was very positive, considering new projects and an increase in marketing to potential tourists in North America.
The opening of a new trail in Queenstown would be exciting, he said.
"You’ll be able to bike all the way from Queenstown through to Middlemarch and then catch a train to Dunedin, which is going to be a big, wonderful thing."
The end-to-end connection to Dunedin is something that was key for both the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust and the tour operators, he said.
