New data commissioned by regional development agency Great South showed Airbnb occupancy in Bluff jumped from 23%-35% in winter to 60%-75% or more during summer.
‘‘Bluff has a strongly seasonal profile, with demand building through spring and peaking over summer,’’ a summary report said.
The report also crunched numbers on ‘‘hero’’ sites such as Stirling Point and Bluff Hill/Motupōhue which provide sightseeing and recreational opportunities.
Stirling Point averaged about 559 visits a day with an average time of about 12 minutes, while about 400 to 600 people made it to Bluff Hill every day, where the holiday peak estimate exceeded 1000.
As for spending, about $900,000 to $1.4 million was dished out every month during summer with a significant portion coming from non-local visitors, the report said.
Developed in 2020, the plan aims to ‘‘transform and revitalise Motupōhue Bluff to make it a more attractive place to live, work, play, visit and invest in’’, according to Great South.
But there are also funding constraints at play which could affect future work.
A report prepared for a Bluff Community Board meeting on July 20 showed Great South was keen for data collection to continue but did not have funding to cover it.
The community board will decide next week whether it wants to pay $6288 for a full year of future data, or $2908 for only summer months.
Great South also cautioned that the new findings did not cover a full year, and the periods covered did not always overlap.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
