Nearly two million trips have been made on New Zealand's Great Rides in one year as cycle trails, and cycle and walking tourism saw a boom in popularity in the lead-up to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said data from the 22 trails which form the Great Rides, gathered between March 1, 2019 and February 28, 2020, has revealed 1,985,600 trips were made on the New Zealand Cycle Trail Great Rides, compared with 1,300,00 in 2015.
“The Great Rides offer intrepid travellers a low-cost and accessible way to see the best parts of the country by going off-road. The rides are graded from easy to expert, and offer something for riders and walkers of all abilities," Nash said today in a statement.
Nash said that the cycleways and walkways offer a "great way to explore unique scenery" while helping diversify the economy of small regional communities by supporting more jobs in tourism, accommodation and hospitality.
Of the trails on offer, the Hawke’s Bay Cycle Trail came out on top with 188,000 cycle trips and 220,000 pedestrian trips, according to the report.
Nash said while the news was "not surprising," Hawke's Bay has "plenty of other great trails, including the Tukituki Trail."
The trail is expected to nearly double in length following the announcement of a $750,000 investment into its extension.
The report revealed domestic visitors to Hawke's Bay used the region's cycle trails more often than international tourists, contributing an estimated $10 million-plus to the local economy.
It also found that the highest users of the trails were pedestrians, including walkers, runners and trampers, who clocked up just over a million trips, followed by cyclists with 960,200 trips.
“The Great Rides are a wonderful reason to get outdoors and see New Zealand this summer,” he said.
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