The Public Pulse of Conservation is a survey of Aotearoa New Zealand residents conducted by the Department of Conservation. The survey is administered on behalf of the department by Ipsos, and captures 1,000 responses every month. The results from each monthly survey ‘wave’ are normally published by the end of the month in which they are collected.

Ipsos collates a monthly topline report summarising the findings from the survey. The report for the June 2023 wave, surveying activity from the previous month - May 2023, is available below.

• Monthly Topline Report – June 2023 - Department of Conservation

Key findings for June 2023

• May visitation to Protected Natural Areas and Protected Heritage Places declined from last April. Compared to a year ago, visitation to Protected Natural Areas and Protected Heritage Places is also slightly lower. These decreases may well reflect the worse weather experienced over the last 6 months, and last year’s higher than normal domestic activity while international travel remained affected by COVID-19.
  • These changes no doubt contributed to a decline in camping trips, with a possibly-related decline in people seeking specific information when planning their trips.
• Satisfaction with the overall experience at Protected Natural Areas remained stable this month but was slightly lower when compared to a year ago. We suspect that continued inclement eather may well be contributing to poorer experiences and DOC maintenance challenges.
• In contract to PNAs, satisfaction with the overall experience at Protected Heritage Places was unchanged compared to a year ago, and this may reflect how ‘built’ destinations are typically less severely impacted by poor weather than natural environments.
  • Compared to last month, visitor satisfaction of the condition and capacity of car parks within Protected Natural Areas and Protected Heritage Places increased. This may simply reflect lower visitation numbers.
• At 30, the NPS for Protected Natural Areas remains lower than a year ago when it was 35.
• Conversely, the NPS for Protected Heritage Places is higher compared to a year ago. Protected Heritage Places NPS is 26. A year ago this was 21.
• In May, significantly more people stated that they did not recall seeing or hearing any aspects of the Department of Conservation in the past 4 weeks.