The results were contained in an economic impact assessment report by Christchurch consultants The Curiosity Company, Warbirds Over Wānaka general manager Ed Taylor said in a statement yesterday.
Mr Taylor said this year’s event was hit with "major curve balls" in the week before the show after rising fuel costs led to the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Australia and Singapore pulling their aircraft out.
The highly anticipated American F-22 Raptor fighter jets were also cancelled.
Skyrocketing fuel prices also affected a lot of visitors — and the weather forecast was "less than ideal".
"While attendance numbers were slightly down on 2024’s airshow people still came and loved it, we had a lot of positive feedback," Mr Taylor said.
He said he believed the economic impact increased due to the number of people who came to the airshow from outside the region.
This year the event’s marketing had specifically targeted Auckland, which resulted in a jump in the number of Aucklanders attending the airshow, up 2% to 14% of total visitors.
International visitors remained strong at 8% of the total audience, spending a total of $8.6 million this year.
The numbers also showed the major positive effect the airshow had for local businesses with total bed nights in the region increasing by just over a thousand to 130,517.
"At the same time the average length of stay was an impressive 4.6 nights," the statement said.
Destination Queenstown and Lake Wanaka Tourism chief executive Mat Woods said the economic impact was "outstanding" and the assessment showed what an important event Warbirds was for Wānaka.
"Warbirds has been producing internationally acclaimed airshows for almost four decades, contributing a remarkable $350 million-plus to the local economy over that time.
"There’s nothing else quite like it and all indications are the 40th anniversary show in 2028 will be one for the ages," he said.
The Warbirds Over Wānaka International Airshow is held every two years over the Easter long weekend.
