The dashboard below provides detailed insights into visitation trends across our district. It can be used to understand typical visitation patterns, assess the impact of specific events, and support more informed operational planning. Data is updated weekly, typically within a few days of each weekend, so bookmark this page and check back regularly for the latest insights.

About this dashboard

This dashboard provides daily, weekly and monthly estimates of daytime and overnight visitor volumes for Central Otago District, split by domestic and international visitors. The estimates are produced by regional tourism insights experts Vistr using anonymised mobile‑device signals (telco and app‑based GPS) scaled by a population model, and are aligned to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’s (MBIE) national Volumes & Flows programme, which MBIE is publishing for sector use. Definitions and standards follow Stats NZ and UNWTO conventions adopted for this programme.

How to interpret the numbers

Treat the figures as estimates, not precise headcounts. They are most reliable for understanding trends - for example, week‑to‑week changes, year‑on‑year growth, seasonality and relative differences between visitor types. Results may be aggregated or suppressed where samples are small to protect privacy and maintain robustness, and previously published values can be updated when underlying third‑party data or official series are refreshed; this revision practice is normal in official tourism statistics. As MBIE finalises national publication settings, minor adjustments to presentation or segmentation may occur to keep this page in step with the national release.

Key measures used:

• Peak Visitors: The maximum number of visitors estimated to be in a specific area during the defined time period (e.g. Peak Daytime: Maximum count between 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM) .
• Visitor Days: The main measure of 'busyness'. It is the cumulative sum of daily peak daytime visitor counts over a specific period (e.g., monthly). Note, it is not a count of unique people, e.g. one visitor staying for 4 days contributes 4 visitor days to the total.