Between 16 June and 8 July 2020, 3,000 New Zealanders aged 18 years and over participated in a survey about the attractiveness of outdoor experiences, comfort in the outdoors and drivers for spending time in the outdoors.

Participants were also asked about their perceptions of risk and safety in the outdoors and associated trip planning and preparation.

Similar to previous surveys undertaken by DOC, the 2020 survey captures New Zealanders' attitudes towards the way outdoor places are managed and whether or not protected areas and cultural heritage and historic sites administered by DOC enrich the life of New Zealanders.

The timing of the survey provided an opportunity to examine New Zealanders’ attitudes towards the outdoors following the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Participants completed the questionnaire online with sampling based on regional council areas.

Note: Due to changes in the way some key questions were worded, direct comparisons between the 2020 survey results and results from previous years are inadvisable.

Survey of New Zealanders (PDF, 2,395K)
This report contains the results of the 2020 Survey of New Zealanders.

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