Tourism Ticker
The Business of Tourism
 
Tourism Ticker
The Business of Tourism

Tourism Ticker

Tourism Ticker
  News   Recovery   Opinion
Tuesday 05 March 2024
Roundup   Jobs   Calendar  

Great Walks

New safety video for Paparoa Track visitors 8th December 2023 /

New safety video for Paparoa Track visitors

The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council, Department of Conservation and Ngāti Waewae have launched a video educating trampers and mountain bikers about safety on the Paparoa Track.


Great Walk bookings dip but demand strong with internationals growing – DOC 23rd November 2023 /

Great Walk bookings dip but demand strong with internationals growing – DOC

Bednights total 157,900 for this season, down just 1% on 2022/23.


Full reopening of Heaphy Track 19th October 2023

Full reopening of Heaphy Track

The Heaphy Track Great Walk has fully reopened and hut bookings now able to be filled from today.


DOC delays Hump Ridge elevation to Great Walk by a year 29th September 2023 /

DOC delays Hump Ridge elevation to Great Walk by a year

The upgrade has been slowed by supply chain issues, weather conditions, and arduous terrain.


Newest Great Walk demand exceeds forecasts, but cost recovery lags – DOC 28th August 2023 /

Newest Great Walk demand exceeds forecasts, but cost recovery lags – DOC

Bed nights on the country’s newest Great Walk have far exceeded expectations, according to the Department of Conservation.


Heaphy Track bookings strong after full reopening 28th July 2023 /

Heaphy Track bookings strong after full reopening

Opening day bookings for the Heaphy Track topped 7,500 bednights – almost three times the total for last year, says the Department of Conservation.


International bookings for Routeburn Track jump 27th July 2023 /

International bookings for Routeburn Track jump

International visitor interest in the Routeburn Track have soared, with bookings for the popular Great Walk up to 34% from just 18% last year.


Routeburn bookings busiest so far of Great Walks 26th July 2023 /

Routeburn bookings busiest so far of Great Walks

Bookings for the Routeburn Track were the busiest so far of the Great Walks, says the Department of Conservation.


International bookings jump on Kepler Track 24th July 2023 /

International bookings jump on Kepler Track

International visitors made up 35% of bed nights on Fiordland’s Kepler Track after the first day of bookings for the Great Walk, up from 20% last year.


Kepler Track bookings “busiest opening day so far” – DOC 21st July 2023 /

Kepler Track bookings “busiest opening day so far” – DOC

Bookings for the Kepler Track Great Walk have jumped on last year.


Whanganui Journey bookings up – DOC 20th July 2023 /

Whanganui Journey bookings up – DOC

Bookings for the Whanganui Journey are expected to increase compared to last year, says the Department of Conservation.


Bookings surge for Abel Tasman Great Walk 19th July 2023 /

Bookings surge for Abel Tasman Great Walk

Bookings for the Abel Tasman Coast Track opened to strong demand.


No let up in Great Walk demand as bookings jump across tracks 17th July 2023 /

No let up in Great Walk demand as bookings jump across tracks

Great Walks bookings for the Paparoa Track numbered more than 1,000 in the first half hour of opening on Thursday, according to the Department of Conservation.


Great Walk international visitor numbers up, still below pre-Covid 13th July 2023 /

Great Walk international visitor numbers up, still below pre-Covid

Almost a quarter of bednights on the Tongariro Circuit Great Walk were booked by international visitors, according to interim figures from the Department of Conservation.


Great Walk demand surges after bookings reopen 12th July 2023 /

Great Walk demand surges after bookings reopen

Demand for the Tongariro Northern Circuit Great Walk has jumped compared to last year after Great Walks bookings finally reopened.


Great Walks bookings reopen 11th July 2023 /

Great Walks bookings reopen

Great Walks bookings reopened at 9.30am today after being delayed from April due to a faulty booking system.


Great Walks bookings to reopen from 11 July 15th June 2023 /

Great Walks bookings to reopen from 11 July

The Department of Conservation will reopen bookings for the Great Walks 2023/24 season from 11 July.


Great Walks bookings likely to reopen in July – DOC 1st June 2023 /

Great Walks bookings likely to reopen in July – DOC

The Department of Conservation will take more time to ensure its Great Walks booking system will work as intended before it reopens to the public, probably in July.


International visitors a summer boon for Great Walks 29th May 2023 /

International visitors a summer boon for Great Walks

Great Walks visitor numbers for the 2022/23 summer jumped by almost a fifth compared to the previous season, driven by the return of internationals.


DOC orders IT supplier to review system after fault forces Great Walk refunds 28th April 2023 /

DOC orders IT supplier to review system after fault forces Great Walk refunds

US provider Tyler Technologies supplies DOC with the IT services and said it had identified a fault, prompting Great Walks bookings to be pulled this week and delayed until June.


DOC pulls this week’s Great Walks bookings, plagued by tech problems 26th April 2023 /

DOC pulls this week’s Great Walks bookings, plagued by tech problems

Bookings for seven of the iconic experiences were supposed to open today and tomorrow but have been delayed until June.


Milford Track demand crashes Great Walks booking site 20th April 2023 /

Milford Track demand crashes Great Walks booking site

The first day of bookings for the Department of Conservation’s Great Walks tracks has been so popular that demand crashed the website.


DOC advances hut rebuild on Tongariro Great Walk 18th April 2023 /

DOC advances hut rebuild on Tongariro Great Walk

The Department of Conservation is preparing to open tenders for the construction of a new building to replace the 26-bunk Oturere hut east of Mt Ngauruhoe.


Paparoa popularity prompts DOC to increase Great Walk’s hut fees 14th April 2023 /

Paparoa popularity prompts DOC to increase Great Walk’s hut fees

The Department of Conservation is increasing hut fees and introducing differential pricing for internationals at its Paparoa Track Great Walk, citing the popularity of the experience.


Great Walk demand to be high with full international return 11th April 2023 /

Great Walk demand to be high with full international return

DOC also aims to elevate Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track to Great Walk status in October, making it the 11th such experience.


Strong summer demand for Great Walks huts 16th January 2023 /

Strong summer demand for Great Walks huts

Summer bed night bookings around New Zealand’s Great Walks jumped 49% this season as the international visitor recovery takes hold.


Great Walks attract 73k visitors in 2021/22, demand still strong – DOC 12th October 2022 /

Great Walks attract 73k visitors in 2021/22, demand still strong – DOC

Visitor numbers at high-volume destinations such as Great Walks during 2021/22 remains below pre-pandemic levels despite strong domestic demand, says DOC.


Commercial bookings take 1.4% of Great Walks availability – DOC 13th May 2022 /

Commercial bookings take 1.4% of Great Walks availability – DOC

Operators, businesses and agents accounted for 1.4% of all Great Walks bookings for the 2022-23 season, says DOC.


DOC re-opens Paparoa Track ahead of schedule 13th May 2022 /

DOC re-opens Paparoa Track ahead of schedule

The Department of Conservation has reopened a section of the Paparoa Track on the West Coast ahead of schedule.


Kiwis snap up 80% of Milford Track bookings 5th May 2022 /

Kiwis snap up 80% of Milford Track bookings

Around 80% of the 7,480 Milford Track bookings for the 2022-23 season came from New Zealanders, says the Department of Conservation.


Milford Track books out in minutes as internationals return 3rd May 2022 /

Milford Track books out in minutes as internationals return

Milford Track booked out in a quarter of an hour this morning after the Department of Conservation opened reservations for its 2022-23 Great Walks season.


Great Walks suffer 17% fall in overnight visitors over summer 28th April 2022 /

Great Walks suffer 17% fall in overnight visitors over summer

The decline has hit DOC in the pocket with revenue from its flagship experiences suffering.


Watch: Celebrating 30 years of Great Walks 26th April 2022 /

Watch: Celebrating 30 years of Great Walks

Get ready for the opening of bookings for Great Walks 2022-23.


DOC optimistic of uplift as Great Walks revenue falls 6% 8th March 2022 /

DOC optimistic of uplift as Great Walks revenue falls 6%

The department has missed out on almost $1m from its Great Walks, compared to the mostly pre-Covid 2019-20 season.


New Heaphy Track “absolutely awesome” 3rd November 2021 /

New Heaphy Track “absolutely awesome”

The new Lewis Shelter on the Heaphy Track has opened to strong reviews.


Great Walks set for summer surge, Whanganui Journey tops growth 10th September 2021 /

Great Walks set for summer surge, Whanganui Journey tops growth

The unique Whanganui Journey experience is topping demand growth this summer for the Department of Conservation’s Great Walks.


DOC clamps down on Great Walks tours pre-bookings 11th August 2021 /

DOC clamps down on Great Walks tours pre-bookings

The Department of Conservation is investigating six guided walking companies to ensure they have not made speculative pre-bookings or are occupying more than 50% of Great Walks hut space.


Heaphy Track re-opens, but Queen Charlotte Track still closed 30th July 2021 /

Heaphy Track re-opens, but Queen Charlotte Track still closed

The Department of Conservation has re-opened the Heaphy Track following a week of repair work from storm damage.


DOC closes Heaphy Track because of storm damage 22nd July 2021 /

DOC closes Heaphy Track because of storm damage

DOC says repair work underway but no estimate available for when the iconic track might be re-opened.


DOC expands international pricing to more Great Walks 11th May 2021 /

DOC expands international pricing to more Great Walks

Weekend pricing has also been introduced for some high-use DOC huts.


New West Coast heli biking experience lifts off 11th January 2021 /

New West Coast heli biking experience lifts off

GCH Aviation’s Coastwide Helicopters has launched a new heli biking experience after purchasing a set of helicopter bike racks from Canada.


Great Walks bookings up 23%, revenue up 6% – DOC 9th December 2020

Great Walks bookings up 23%, revenue up 6% – DOC

Revenue was up 6% across all 10 Great Walks, compared to the same time last year despite the loss of international visitors.


Milford Track fully re-opens 30th November 2020

Milford Track fully re-opens

Fiordland’s Milford Track has fully re-opened today after being damaged by a storm on 4-6 February.


DOC adds huts, campsites online as Great Walks open 27th October 2020 /

DOC adds huts, campsites online as Great Walks open

The Department of Conservation has opened an additional 43 campsites and eight huts for online bookings ahead of the summer season.


Ultimate Hikes sets opening dates, discounts prices for Milford, Routeburn 5th June 2020 /

Ultimate Hikes sets opening dates, discounts prices for Milford, Routeburn

Ultimate Hikes will open for the season on the 17 December and run through until 5 April 2021.


Routeburn Track partially reopens for trampers 5th March 2020 /

Routeburn Track partially reopens for trampers

Walkers will be offered a replacement Routeburn Great Walk from 12 March as it remains partially closed following storm damage.


Full Paparoa Track opens following damage delays 2nd March 2020 /

Full Paparoa Track opens following damage delays

The Paparoa Track has fully opened after a slip and prolonged adverse weather left the middle section of the track closed since its official launch on 1 December last year.


Section of new Paparoa Track Great Walk closed due to slip 20th November 2019 /

Section of new Paparoa Track Great Walk closed due to slip

A ‘difficult-to-fix’ slip will mean the middle section of the new Paparoa Track will be closed when it opens on 1 December.


Great Walks open for 2019-20 season, 128k bed nights booked 2nd October 2019 /

Great Walks open for 2019-20 season, 128k bed nights booked

More than 128,500 hut and campsite bed nights have been booked on the country’s 10 Great Walks during the peak season, according to the Department of Conservation.


Great Walks: Milford Track books out for most of summer 12th June 2019 /

Great Walks: Milford Track books out for most of summer

Milford Track is now full from mid-November to mid-February after bookings opened yesterday.