The Department of Conservation believes poor weather and fires are to blame for a drop in the number of people doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing this season, as it considers a future cap on bookings.

In the 2025/26 year - from October 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026 - a total of 71,000 people walked the crossing in a single direction.

Figures released to Newstalk ZB under the Official Information Act show that number fell from 94,000 visitors in the season prior, and 108,000 people in the 2023/24 year.

A rāhui was placed on parts of Tongariro National Park late last year after two fires burned thousands of hectares.
The track had sustained some fire damage which has since been remediated.

Department of Conservation (DoC) Tongariro operations manager Libby O’Brien said before Covid, the visitor numbers were getting a little bit out of hand.

“We had some really negative impacts on the track and on the crossing,” she said.

“We had some time where people weren’t able to walk the track while the fire was raging and while we made sure that the infrastructure was up to scratch”.

She added the weather had also played a significant part in the drop: “We had about 30% of days over the summer season where people weren’t able to walk the crossing.”

The Department of Conservation has no hard-set cap on visitor numbers, but estimates it may not be sustainable to have more than 155,000 annual single-direction trips on the crossing.

A report considered by DoC also recommended setting limits, such as a potential cap, may need to be considered if more than 2000 people do the crossing in a single direction a day. DoC said this had only happened once, on March 30, 2024, and added an online booking system can “nudge” people towards “quieter days”.

The agency said limits may be considered if there is a rolling five-day average of more than 1500 people.

Its website states the findings of the report will be used to develop a framework to manage visitor impacts. It suggests a cap on visitor numbers is not out of the picture: “We will continue to monitor visitor numbers and impacts, which will enable us to respond to any changing demands or new issues. This could include a future cap on bookings or other interventions depending on the challenges at the time.”

A sustainable visitor management project came into effect in 2022, which O’Brien labels a success.

“This has been an opportunity to educate our visitors, keep everybody safe, and just make sure everyone who is coming to do the crossing is having a safe and enjoyable experience,” she said.

The project has delivered “behaviour-change campaigns”, according to DoC’s response to the OIA, to target visitors with key information about preparedness and cultural significance.

Trained Manaaki Rangers, supplied by an iwi contractor, also welcome visitors with key messages at the track ends daily from Labour Weekend to April 30.

Pou whenua, picnic furniture, and signage have been installed at the track ends - work to improve the carpark and visitor centre is also expected to take place this year.

On capacity, O’Brien said over the past couple of decades, there has been a steady increase of visitor numbers “putting pressure on the conservation and cultural values of the area, and also the infrastructure”.

She said pressures were around waste management, congestion, toilets, environmental damage, and in some cases, a “lack of respect for the cultural significance” of Tongariro.

O’Brien said being able to tell visitors the cultural significance of why Tongariro is so special “helps them to be able to look after the place and our infrastructure - to do things like use the toilets instead of going to the toilet on the side of the track”.

“Again, it makes not only the mana whenua a little bit more comfortable around those visitor numbers, but it also helps those visitors to all have a good experience,” she said.

Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.