NZ Adventure Tourism Website Benchmark 2026: What 93 Operators' Websites Show

In October 2026 I tested the websites of 93 NZ adventure tourism operators: 81 independent businesses and 12 large operators. This is the short version. The full results, charts, method and the operators doing it well are on the benchmark page.

What the independents got right

• 68% have a direct booking route. 55 of 81 let visitors book through a system on their own site. Rezdy and FareHarbor account for most of them.
• Marketplaces aren’t the problem on their own sites. Only 1 of 81 sent its main Book button to a marketplace.
• The basics are mostly there. 100% have HTTPS, 95% have a sitemap and 93% have a meta description.

Where most of them fall short

• Mobile speed. The median score is 56 out of 100. Only 2 of 81 score 90 or more, and 28% score under 50.
• Structured data. 32% describe their business or tours in markup, and 25% have none.
• Price and currency. 37% show a price on the homepage or booking page, and 14% say which currency it is in.
• Online booking. 30% showed no online booking route in what was checked.

Large operators

The 12 large operators lead on booking (83% have a direct route) and reviews (a median of 1,468 Google reviews against 216), but their sites are slower: a median mobile score of 44 against 56.

How it was done, and the limits

Each homepage and one booking page was loaded in a real browser, and speed was measured with Google PageSpeed Insights on mobile. Operators were found through regional tourism directories, so this is a benchmark of a stated sample, not a census. EightySix Digital sells web design, SEO and direct-booking help, and that conflict of interest is disclosed on the benchmark page. The method, weights and limitations are written out in full there.

Check your own site

If you run a tour or activity business, you can get a free private scorecard showing how your site compares and what to fix first. Related: how direct bookings work and web design for tourism operators.