Background
This measure relates to indicator 3.2.2 – Opportunities, facilities and services provided meet customer expectations and preferences.
DOC’s Great Walks traverse Aotearoa New Zealand’s most compelling natural environments and are marketed both at home and abroad as truly iconic visitor experiences. Therefore, it is important that these experiences meet visitors’ expectations. By assessing which factors affect walkers’ satisfaction, DOC can identify key opportunities for making improvements that matter to visitors.
93% of respondents were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with their overall Great Walk experience.
What did we measure?
The Great Walk Guest Survey for 2021/2022 comprised web-based questionnaires that ran throughout the year. These questionnaires included both quantitative and qualitative questions. Only the post-visit questionnaire, filled in after the completion of the Great Walk, was used for this factsheet. Questions were configured as weighted five-point unipolar rating scales. In the year ending 30 June 2022, surveys were completed by 4042 visitors who completed Great Walks. In 2021/2022, respondents were predominantly from New Zealand, with 82% reporting their nationality as New Zealander/Kiwi, and 98% reporting they normally reside in New Zealand. This reflects decreased international visitation due to border restrictions arising from the Covid-19 global pandemic.
What did we find?
- 93% of respondents were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with their overall Great Walk experience (Table 1), confirming that the Great Walks continue to deliver the benefits walkers are seeking.
- Two factors were strongly associated with walkers being ‘extremely satisfied’ overall:
- The condition of the huts/shelters/campsites – 79% of those who responded that they were extremely satisfied with the condition of the huts/shelters/campsites expressed extreme satisfaction with their overall experience, compared with only 0.4% of those who were less satisfied with the condition of these facilities.
- The presence of highly natural soundscapes – 73% of those who totally agreed with the statement ‘I experienced natural soundscapes/tranquility’ expressed extreme satisfaction with their overall experience, compared with only 43% of those who expressed less agreement.
- When walkers were asked to describe their Great Walk experience in three words, the most frequently mentioned words were ‘beautiful’, ‘fun’, and ‘stunning’, mentioned by 59%, 36%, and 28% of respondents respectively.
- When walkers were asked to describe the highlights and lowlights of their Great Walk experience, ‘scenery’ and ‘views’ were most often referred to as highlights (mentioned by 16% and 15% of respondents respectively), while ‘weather’ and ‘snoring’ were most often referred to as lowlights (both mentioned by 3% of respondents). Overall, respondents reported highlights much more frequently than lowlights. 8% of the lowlights responses were ‘none’, compared with zero such entries for highlights (Figure 1).
- 9% of walkers across all nationalities felt ‘very’ or ‘extremely challenged’ on their Great Walk experience this year (Table 2). Australian was the most challenged nationality this year with 13% of respondents challenged, while 10% of New Zealanders reported feeling ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ challenged.
- The Lake Waikaremoana Track, Kepler Track, and Whanganui Journey were considered the most challenging Great Walks this year (Table 3).
Figure 1: Word cloud for respondents’ descriptions of their Great Walk experience (highlights green, lowlights red).
| Level of satisfaction | Percent |
|---|---|
| Extremely satisfied | 57% |
| Very satisfied | 37% |
| Moderately satisfied | 5% |
| Slightly satisfied | 1% |
| Not at all satisfied | 1% |
| Nationality | Percent |
|---|---|
| Australian | 13% |
| New Zealander/Kiwi | 10% |
| United Kingdom | 9% |
| USA | 7% |
| (all) | 9% |
| Great Walk | Percent |
|---|---|
| Lake Waikaremoana Track | 17% |
| Kepler Track | 15% |
| Whanganui Journey | 15% |
| Tongariro Northern Circuit | 13% |
| Milford Track | 10% |
| Paparoa Track | 9% |
| Heaphy Track | 7% |
| Routeburn Track | 7% |
| Rakiura Track | 6% |
| Abel Tasman Coast Track | 5% |
| (all) | 9% |
Data quality
This measure is classified as a partial measure and complies with the data quality criteria used in New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series.
All respondents for the post-visit survey were recruited from the population of walkers who provided an email address with their Great Walk on-line booking. They were invited to take the survey immediately after completion of the Great Walk. This report includes post-visit survey responses recorded up until 30 June 2022. Pre-visit survey respondents were incentivised to also complete the post-visit survey. It should be noted that survey respondents did not constitute a random sample of the Great Walk walking population because not all members of the population had an equal opportunity to be selected. All respondents were self-selected. No statistical adjustment was made for these biases.
Additional resources
McGlone, M.; Dalley, J. 2015: A framework for Department of Conservation inventory and monitoring: intermediate outcomes 1-5. Landcare Research Contract Report LC2427 for the Department of Conservation, Wellington (unpublished). 75 p.