Welcome to the Destination Kaikōura Data Dashboard, providing real-time data & analytics helping stakeholders & local businesses understand the trends and dynamics of tourism in our beautiful region.

 

 

 

 

July 2026 Insights:

Visitation, accommodation and spending all contracted while tourism-related employment expanded
Kaikōura softened across visitation, commercial accommodation and visitor spending, while tourism-related employment moved the other way. Total visitor days contracted ▼-19% YoY, with total visitor nights falling at a similar rate (▼-20% YoY). Total guest nights contracted further again (▼-27% YoY) on ▼-32% YoY fewer guest arrivals, leaving occupancy at 23% (▼-7%pt. YoY). Total visitor spending, as reported by the MRTEs, contracted ▼-29% YoY against a national benchmark of ↔ 0% YoY, with the decline spread across every product category rather than concentrated in one. Filled jobs in tourism-related industries grew ▲+9% YoY, among the strongest results in the South Island.

Domestic visitor days carried the decline while international visitor nights barely slipped
The weakness in visitation was overwhelmingly domestic, while international visitors held their ground and leaned further toward overnight stays. Domestic visitor days contracted ▼-20% YoY and domestic visitor nights ▼-22% YoY, with domestic guest nights contracting further still at ▼-34% YoY, suggesting a smaller share of domestic overnighters chose commercial accommodation. International visitor days contracted ▼-11% YoY but international visitor nights slipped only ▼-3% YoY, and international guest nights (▼-9% YoY) tracked close behind. Spending told the opposite story, with international visitor spending (as reported by the MRTEs) contracting ▼-35% YoY against domestic visitor spending (as reported by the MRTEs) at ▼-28% YoY. Despite July’s softer result, the rolling 12-month trend remained much stronger for international visitor days (▲+20% YoY) than domestic visitor days (▼-7% YoY), showing that the international market’s annual base continued to expand while the domestic base contracted.

Kaikōura recorded a weak July for visitor activity
Kaikōura was one of the weakest regions in the South Island this month. Total visitor days contracted ▼-19% YoY and domestic visitor days ▼-20% YoY. International visitor days contracted ▼-11% YoY, but international visitor nights slipped only ▼-3% YoY, so the shortfall sat with day visitors rather than those staying overnight. The Matariki long weekend produced no visible lift, with the busiest day of the month instead falling on Sunday 5 July at the start of the school holidays.

The two neighbouring source markets contracted hardest while Auckland and Waikato surged
The domestic decline was concentrated in the two neighbouring source markets either side of Kaikōura, while more distant markets grew. Visitor days from Canterbury, still the largest source region at 21% share, contracted ▼-54% YoY, while Marlborough contracted ▼-65% YoY and slid from second place to seventh. Both markets were also negative over the quarter ending July, with Canterbury down ▼-42% YoY and Marlborough down ▼-49% YoY, indicating that their weakness extended beyond July. Running the other way, visitor days from Auckland surged ▲+81% YoY and Waikato ▲+59% YoY, both from far smaller bases a year ago and both well ahead of their quarter ending trends (Auckland ▲+31% YoY, Waikato ▲+17% YoY), lifting Auckland to second and Waikato to third.

Rest of Asia and USA & Canada displaced Australia at the top of a reshuffled market ranking
The international ranking reshuffled almost completely, on volumes that are small in Kaikōura and move sharply as a result. Rest of Asia climbed from fourth to the largest market (▲+79% YoY, 26% share) and USA & Canada from sixth to second (▲+68% YoY), both from small bases, while Australia contracted ▼-42% YoY and fell from first to third. Europe (▼-54% YoY) and China, Japan & Korea (▼-47% YoY) both dropped steeply in the month, but their quarter ending readings sit close to flat (Europe ▲+4% YoY, China, Japan & Korea ▼-1% YoY). This presents a mixed picture: the July falls were sharp, but neither market showed a clear three-month decline.

Spending fell in every product category, with domestic and international pullbacks landing in different parts of the basket
The spending decline reported by the MRTEs was broad based rather than concentrated in one category, but domestic and international visitors pulled back in different places. Accommodation, the largest category at 49% of visitor spending, contracted least in total (▼-19% YoY), easing only marginally for domestic visitors (▼-6% YoY) while international Accommodation spending contracted ▼-56% YoY. Food and beverage serving services (38% of visitor spending) showed the reverse pattern, with domestic spending contracting ▼-44% YoY against ▼-13% YoY for international. Cultural and recreational services fell furthest (▼-64% YoY) from a 2% share of visitor spending, where small movements produce outsized percentages.

Domestic visitor spending contracted far harder than the national picture, with Canterbury carrying most of the fall
Domestic visitor spending (as reported by the MRTEs) pulled back much further in Kaikōura than nationally, and the region's dominant source market carried most of it. Domestic visitor spending contracted ▼-28% YoY against a national benchmark of ▼-1% YoY. Spending from Canterbury region, which accounts for 45% of domestic visitor spending in the region, contracted ▼-28% YoY and the Auckland source market fell further at ▼-50% YoY, while Marlborough eased only marginally (▼-5% YoY) and Tasman grew ▲+5% YoY. The rolling 12 month trend for domestic visitor spending remains positive at ▲+5% YoY, so the month sits well apart from the region's wider year.

International visitor spending fell across almost every market, with China the only one of scale to grow
The international pullback in spending (as reported by the MRTEs) reached nearly every market, leaving China as the sole exception among the larger ones. International visitor spending contracted ▼-35% YoY against a national benchmark of ▲+3% YoY. Spending from the United States of America, the largest international market at 35% share, contracted ▼-49% YoY, with Australia (▼-28% YoY), the United Kingdom (▼-31% YoY) and Rest of Europe (▼-16% YoY) all lower, while China grew ▲+5% YoY and climbed two places to fourth. The rolling 12 month trend for international visitor spending remains firmly positive at ▲+21% YoY.

Guest nights fell further than visitation on fewer guest arrivals, not shorter stays
Commercial accommodation fell considerably further than visitation, and the shortfall was in guest numbers rather than trip length. Total guest nights contracted ▼-27% YoY against a national lift of ▲+12% YoY, on ▼-32% YoY fewer guest arrivals, while average nights per guest rose ▲+8% YoY. Occupancy eased to 23% (▼-7%pt. YoY) with available capacity essentially unchanged (▼-1% YoY), pointing to a demand side movement rather than a supply response. Domestic guest nights contracted ▼-34% YoY against ▼-9% YoY for international. Total guest nights on a rolling 12 month basis are steadier at ↔ 0% YoY, so July reads as a pronounced single month movement rather than the continuation of a year long softening.

Lodges & Boutique guest nights grew as every other property type contracted
Lodges & Boutique was the only property type to grow, and across the rest of the sector the domestic pullback carried the decline. Lodges & Boutique guest nights grew ▲+27% YoY on ▲+50% YoY domestic growth from an 8% share of guest nights, with occupancy lifting to 41% (▲+2%pt. YoY). Holiday Parks & Campgrounds, the largest type at 29% share, contracted ▼-38% YoY in guest nights, and Motels & Apartments (6-20) ▼-31% YoY. The domestic and international split within each type is stark: domestic guest nights in Motels & Apartments (>20) contracted ▼-50% YoY while international guest nights there held flat (↔ 0% YoY), and Holiday Parks & Campgrounds domestic guest nights contracted ▼-42% YoY against ▼-21% YoY international. International guest nights were therefore relatively more resilient this month compare to domestic guest nights, increasing the international share of a smaller total guest-night market.

Tourism-related employment expanded strongly while every other dataset contracted
Tourism-related employment ran counter to the rest of the month, expanding while visitation, spending and guest nights all fell. Filled jobs in tourism-related industries jumped ▲+9% YoY, second of 13 South Island regions, and tourism earnings leaped ▲+18% YoY, the strongest in the South Island. Accommodation, the largest industry at 42% of filled jobs, led the expansion with filled jobs surging ▲+36% YoY and earnings jumping ▲+16% YoY, while Food and Beverage Services (31% of filled jobs) grew filled jobs ▲+10% YoY. Smaller industries moved the other way, with Travel and Tour Services shedding filled jobs (▼-7% YoY) and Activity Services (▼-17% YoY) and Recreation Services (▼-25% YoY) both contracting from small shares of the workforce. On a rolling 12 month basis filled jobs and tourism earnings both sit at ▲+7% YoY.