Exploring the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced border closure on domestic visitors’ experience of New Zealand’s Great Walks

Abstract

This report outlines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions on visitor experience, using the specific context of the Department of Conservation Great Walks as a key icon of Aotearoa New Zealand's outdoor recreation and tourism products. This report relies on secondary data analysis of pre-walk and post-walk survey data from 2018/19 and 2019/20 collected by the Department of Conservation. The findings show that several attributes and factors characterise domestic visitors' experiences of Great Walks. The reasons respondents rated as most important for undertaking a Great Walk were related to nature, exploration, and taking a break from everyday life, features largely reflected by their most highly rated experience attributes which included the presence of wildlife and nature, and sharing the walk with friends or family. The research also reveals some evidence that the absence of international tourists in 2020/21 was a factor in domestic respondents' decisions to undertake a Great Walk and gave them a different experience due, in part, to the reduction in perceived crowding. Importance-performance analysis indicates that the Department of Conservation is currently meeting (or exceeding) expectations for most factors that visitors rate as important, although the report identifies information about Māori culture as an area of future focus for managers of the Great Walks.