A Clutha Development report to be presented to Clutha District Council's corporate services committee today shows encouraging tourism figures for the region.
In the data provided, guest nights (+4.1%) and accommodation occupancy (+0.5%) were up for June 2018, compared with a year ago, and estimated tourism spend for both June ($5 million) and July ($6 million) was also up, by 6% and 7% respectively.
Airbnb properties, not typically included in the above statistics, accounted for about 20% of all guest nights in Clutha, from about 140 listed properties.
The figures sat against a lower South Island backdrop of ''healthy'' increases for all districts - Central Otago and Waitaki showed double-digit growth in guest nights over the same period.
The report suggested July's significant tourism spend in Clutha could be attributed to increased skifield traffic through the district during that month.
