The Monthly Data Snapshot is published at the end of each month and gives members a view of how the visitor economy performed in the previous month, using the latest available datasets. International visitor arrivals run a month behind because of when that data is released. Insights are drawn from a range of publicly available and privately purchased data sources relating to the visitor economy.
Wānaka had 309.1K visitor days in September 2026, up 15% on September 2025. Domestic visitor days were up 1% and international visitor days were up 37%.
Cumulative visitor days add up the visitors counted on each day of the month, so someone here for three days counts three times. Counts are estimated from mobile network data and are not unique visitors. Source: MBIE, Tourism Volumes and Flows (monthly visitor days). Geography: Wānaka RTO. Total is domestic plus international visitor days.
Commercial accommodation recorded 64.7K guest nights in September 2026, up 6% on September 2025. Domestic guest nights were down 1% and international guest nights were up 14%. Occupancy was 53%, up 8 points.
Guest nights, occupancy and length of stay at commercial accommodation (hotels, motels, backpackers, holiday parks, lodges) that supply data to the Accommodation Data Programme, so figures are estimates. Source: Accommodation Data Programme (MBIE). Geography: Wānaka RTO, all property types. Occupancy is stay units occupied as a share of units available. Length of stay is guest nights per guest arrival.
Short-term rentals were booked for 23.0K listing nights in September 2026, up 24% on September 2025. Occupancy was 65%, up 8 points.
Short-term rentals booked on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Listing nights count properties booked, not rooms, beds or guest nights. Source: AirDNA (monthly performance). Geography: Wānaka RTO. Occupancy is booked listing nights as a share of available listing nights.
Visitors spent an estimated $30.5M on electronic cards in Wānaka in September 2026, up 13% on September 2025. Domestic spend was level and international spend was up 32%.
PY is prior year: the change compared with Sep 2025. * Large percentage change on a small base (under $1M). Treat with caution.
In-person electronic card spend by visitors from outside the Queenstown Lakes District. Excludes cash and online transactions. Not adjusted for inflation. Source: Marketview, Council Tool. Merchant location: Wānaka. Customer origin from card registration; spend by Queenstown Lakes District residents is excluded.
Year ending September 2026, one quarter behind the rest of the snapshot
Wānaka's Net Promoter Score was 82 for the year ending September 2026, up 10.0 points on the year ending September 2025. Domestic NPS was 80 and international NPS was 86.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how likely visitors are to recommend visiting the area, on a 0 to 10 scale: the share of promoters (9 to 10) minus the share of detractors (0 to 6). Results are rolling 12-month figures at each quarter end and run a quarter behind the rest of the snapshot. Source: Queenstown and Wānaka Visitor Experience Survey, conducted by Angus & Associates for DQ and LWT. Data is provisional. Earlier published snapshots did not apply weighting, so figures differ slightly from those. Figures are weighted to reflect estimated visitor composition (60% domestic / 40% international). Wānaka joined the programme in July 2023, so periods before year ending June 2024 cover less than 12 months.
Queenstown Airport had 124.5K passenger arrivals in September 2026, up 7% on September 2025. In August 2026, 58.9K international visitors arrived through the Queenstown arrival port, up 19% on August 2025.
Source: Queenstown Airport Corporation, monthly passenger arrivals. Domestic and international refer to flight origin, not nationality, and include residents returning home.
August 2026, one month behind the rest of the snapshot
Source: Stats NZ, International visitor arrivals by country of residence, purpose and port (Infoshare). Last 12 months is the 12 months to the month shown. This data is released about six weeks after month end, so this section runs a month behind the rest of the snapshot.