The West Coast Wilderness Trail Economic Impact Report is now out. Click here to download the report.
Some of the key findings include the following:
- The trail brings 7,000-10,000 new visitors a year to the Coast
- 94% have come specifically to ride the trail
- 88% of riders are from New Zealand; Auckland is the predominant region
- 12% are international visitors; Australia the most prominent country of origin
- the main age group are 60-69 years, 11% of riders are under 40
- the average nights stay while riding the trail is 3.2, the average stay while on the Coast is 4.2 nights
- the average spend per rider per day is $207
- The trail has been the catalyst for the revival of the township of Kumara, the creation of five significant new businesses and over $7 million in private investment, extensions to many others and over 30 direct full and part-time jobs.