Janet Purdey: Ngā Haerenga NZ Cycle Trails CEO on the Great Rides delivering over a billion dollars into regional economy

New Zealand's top cycle trails are pumping more than $1.2 billion a year into local economies. 

New data shows visitor spend attributed to the country's 23 Great Rides jumped 35% compared to 2021. 

Nights spent in nearby accommodations are up 25% at around 4.5 million. 

Ngā Haerenga NZ Cycle Trails CEO Janet Purdey told Mike Hosking they’re marketing into Australia and the United States, and they plan to bring a lot more internationals into the country to do the trails. 

She says the global market is estimated to be US$234 billion in 2030, and they want a piece of that. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our cycle trails are working. These are the great rides.
They're pumping one point to eight billion. We find out
this morning into regional New Zealand visitors spending up thirty
five percent on five years ago. Janet perty are interesting
in the international tourists make up seventeen percent of all
trips now. Janet Perty is the cycle trails to youth
for executive and is with this Janet morning I've cured
to mic not a criticism, but seventeen percent strikes me

(00:21):
as a small number. I would have thought they'd be
more international, So it's all basically locals enjoying this.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well. Actually, when the borders were closed obviously we didn't
have any internationals coming in, so it's actually a big
increase from the last five years. And whilst a's seventeen percent,
it's actually a twenty eight percent of that one point
to eight billion, so they actually bring in even more money.
They spend about one thousand dollars more than our domestic visitors.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
That's encouraging. So you will say, when I get you
back on in five years time, that number internationals will
go up because they are spenders, aren't.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
They absolutely, And you know we're saying we're marketing into Australia,
we're marketing into the States, so our plan is to
bring a lot more internationals here to do our cycle trails.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
How do you market Do you market cycling or do
you market the region or outback or adventure tourism.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
We're actually specifically marketing the great right, but the regional
tourism organizations will be marketing come to a region and
we're looking at that as well. You know, come to
Central Otago is about five great rides there. It's a
really good place to base yourself and golf and have
these cycling adventures. So there's a lot of interest. The

(01:36):
global sort of market is estimated to be two hundred
and thirty four billion US dollars in twenty and thirty,
so you know we want a piece of that, of course.
You do.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Good summer lined up, Janet.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh, fantastic. Yeah, I'm hoping to get out on a
few trails this summer.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Good on. You're nice to talk to. You appreciate it.
Janet Perting, who's the New Zealand Cycle Trails Chief executive.
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