Popularuty of New Zealand’s Great Walks boosts tourism growth

New Zealand Department of Conservation has spotlighted a significant boost in the number of people booking bed nights along the country’s Great Walks with NZ Conservation Minister Tama Potaka noting “it is a good sign for conservation tourism and local businesses.”

Minister Potaka advised that opening day bookings for each of the Great Walks were up by over 10,000 bed nights compared to last year, totalling more than 140,000 bed nights and bringing in more than $9 million to the Department of Conservation - Te Papa Atawhai.

In 2024 nearly three-quarters of international visitors said they did a hike, walk or tramp while in Aotearoa New Zealand, and around half visited a National Park. Conservation-related tourism is worth around $3.4 billion a year.

Minister Potaka added “Booking system upgrades - including a new online lobby - successfully processed a peak of nearly 12,000 people waiting to book the Milford when it opened on 28th May in an hour.

“People across the world are dreaming of walking our beautiful whenua. Great Walks bookings are our golden tickets. You don’t need rivers of chocolate when you’ve got the Routeburn Track.

“Even this time of year, places like Abel Tasman Great Walk have space to escape under the stars for Matariki mā Puanga – take some hot Milo.

“This is great for local businesses, local jobs and incomes. Before and after their walk they stay, eat and adventure locally, injecting money into local economies.

“The Government is backing sustainable conservation tourism that supports local economies. That’s why we will continue to invest funds from the International Visitor Levy into protecting and enhancing our biodiversity such as in Rakiura National Park.”

Great Walks opening day bookings
All Great Walks increased their bed nights booked, except for Heaphy and Whanganui River Journey; see table below which is a snapshot of bookings made on the opening days.

Image top. Abel Tasman Coast Walk. Credit: NZ Tourism