Derby visitors near 100 percent return rate!

The Blue Derby Foundation recently completed an annual visitation study to quantify and understand the Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails visitor market.
The survey was the first of its kind to be completed for the destination and ran for three months from February to May 2024.
A total of 594 voluntary responses were received during this period, of these, 568 people or 96% said the Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails was the primary motivation for their visit.
The Blue Derby Foundation were surprised to see the data showed that more than 65 percent of interstate visitors came more than once a year and on average the length of stay was four days.
The economic benefit to the state was displayed in the 48 percent of the visitors travelling from interstate or overseas to Derby that they then go onto other Tasmanian destinations and attractions for four days or more. 
And 98 percent intend to return, of those participating in the data, 80% were actually returning visitors already. 
Other highlights included those visiting are from the higher income earner bracket and said they were likely to spend more while in the region.
Service satisfaction ratings were very high among visitors and surprisingly the majority of visitors planned their trip to Derby just two weeks in advance, one quarter of those more spontaneous travellers organised their trip in under two weeks.
Riding styles and preferences saw the majority of riders (57%) opted for blue trails,
followed by black trails (31%) and green (12%).
The most popular trails in order of favourite were Air Ya Garn, Hazy Days, Blue Tier, Flickety Sticks, Atlas and Kumma Gutza. 
The data indicated there was potential to grow female and younger visitor numbers and there was a demand for longer trails similar to Blue Tier. 
Further feedback included the need for a grocery store, more wellness activities, a medical centre and powered caravan sites. 
Participants in the survey were incentivised to complete the questions with a $1000 prize.