Assessing visitor spend across Southland

For the last few months, the Great South team has been utilising Marketview data to assess Southland's tourism industry. Marketview uses in-person card transaction data to identify key trends in visitor spend.

The information has shown that in Fiordland card spend for July 2020 was $2.83 million. This is down 7.6% from July 2019. 

With the international market down by 90% for the month, this result was driven by strong domestic growth with the domestic market up by 56%.  Fiordland’s traditionally strong international visitation means it continues to be one of the most impacted areas across New Zealand as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

For the rest of the Southland area card spend for July was $14.08 million, up by 7% on from July 2019. Outside of Fiordland the Southland region traditionally reflects a stronger domestic market, meaning the absence of international visitors is less keenly felt. This has been reflected in the data with domestic market spend up by 11% for the month and the international market down by 39%

Spend data recorded over key routes within the region is growing, indicating both locals and visitors are exploring Southland and with engaging well with the Rediscover Southland campaign.