--- title: "Stargazing tours in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?" description: "Compare the dark sky and stargazing tour operators visitors book in New Zealand. Share of Search among Dark Sky Project, Tekapo Star Gazing and Big Sky Stargazing, the stargazing tours Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-stargazing-tours" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Stargazing tours in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search? Compare the dark sky and stargazing tour operators visitors book in New Zealand. Share of Search among Dark Sky Project, Tekapo Star Gazing and Big Sky Stargazing, the stargazing tours Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Competitive set**: Stargazing tours - **Market**: New Zealand - **Brands compared**: 3 - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Highest Share of Search**: Dark Sky Project, 62.2% ## Which brand is most popular in search among stargazing tours in New Zealand? - In August 2026, Dark Sky Project was the most searched among stargazing tours in New Zealand, with an estimated 8.3K branded searches and 62.2% estimated Share of Search within this set. - Tekapo Star Gazing is in 2nd place, 28.2 percentage points behind at 34.1% Share of Search. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Dark Sky Project’s estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand decreased from 70.1% to 62.2%. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Tekapo Star Gazing’s estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand increased from 26.4% to 34.1%. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Dark Sky Project’s estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand peaked at 70.1% in October 2025 and was lowest at 54.9% in June 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Tekapo Star Gazing’s estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand peaked at 41.2% in June 2026 and was lowest at 26.4% in October 2025. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Big Sky Stargazing’s estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand peaked at 4.3% in July 2026 and was lowest at 3% in May 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Big Sky Stargazing held steady: its estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand moved less than 0.5 percentage points. ## Compare search popularity between leading brands - [Dark Sky Project vs Tekapo Star Gazing: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/dark-sky-project-vs-tekapo-star-gazing): 62.2% against 34.1% Share of Search. - [Dark Sky Project vs Big Sky Stargazing: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/big-sky-stargazing-vs-dark-sky-project): 62.2% against 3.7% Share of Search. - [Tekapo Star Gazing vs Big Sky Stargazing: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/big-sky-stargazing-vs-tekapo-star-gazing): 34.1% against 3.7% Share of Search. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand stargazing tours in August 2026? - In August 2026, Dark Sky Project gained estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand, from 58.7% to 62.2%. - In August 2026, Tekapo Star Gazing lost estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand, from 37.1% to 34.1%. - In August 2026, Big Sky Stargazing lost estimated Share of Search among stargazing tours in New Zealand, from 4.3% to 3.7%. ## Share of Search ranking | Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Dark Sky Project | 62.2% | 8.3K | +22.2% | Dark Sky Project | | 2 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 34.1% | 4.5K | +5.9% | Tekapo Star Gazing | | 3 | Big Sky Stargazing | 3.7% | 490 | 0.0% | Big Sky Stargazing | ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Dark Sky Project | 12.3K | 70.1% | 1 | | Oct 2025 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 4.6K | 26.4% | 2 | | Oct 2025 | Big Sky Stargazing | 600 | 3.4% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Dark Sky Project | 15.1K | 68.4% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 6.2K | 28.3% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | Big Sky Stargazing | 730 | 3.3% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Dark Sky Project | 15K | 61.7% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 8.3K | 34.2% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | Big Sky Stargazing | 1K | 4.2% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 15.1K | 61.9% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 8.4K | 34.5% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 890 | 3.7% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 12.3K | 62.1% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 6.8K | 34.2% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 730 | 3.7% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 12.3K | 59.9% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 7.5K | 36.6% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 730 | 3.5% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 12.3K | 64.3% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 6.1K | 31.9% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 730 | 3.8% | 3 | | May 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 10.1K | 62.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 5.6K | 34.8% | 2 | | May 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 490 | 3% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 6.8K | 54.9% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 5.1K | 41.2% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 490 | 4% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 6.8K | 58.7% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 4.3K | 37.1% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 490 | 4.3% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Dark Sky Project | 8.3K | 62.2% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | 4.5K | 34.1% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | 490 | 3.7% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Big Sky Stargazing | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Dark Sky Project | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Tekapo Star Gazing | — | — | — | ## What is being compared - **Big Sky Stargazing**: Measured on the search terms “big sky stargazing”, “big sky stargazing new zealand” and “hermitage co nz”, summed into one figure. - **Dark Sky Project**: Measured on the search terms “dark sky project”, “dark sky project crater experience”, “dark sky project new zealand”, “dark sky project nz”, “dark sky project stargazing”, “dark sky project summit experience”, “darkskyproject”, “darkskyproject co nz” and “the dark sky project”, summed into one figure. - **Tekapo Star Gazing**: Measured on the search terms “lake tekapo star gazing hot pools”, “tekapo chinese stargazing”, “tekapo star gazing”, “tekapo star gazing hot pools”, “tekapo star gazing tour” and “tekapostargazing”, summed into one figure. - [Big Sky Stargazing](/demand/nz/brands/big-sky-stargazing) - [Dark Sky Project](/demand/nz/brands/dark-sky-project) - [Tekapo Star Gazing](/demand/nz/brands/tekapo-star-gazing) ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which brand is most popular in search among stargazing tours in New Zealand? In August 2026, Dark Sky Project was the most searched among stargazing tours in New Zealand, with an estimated 8.3K branded searches and 62.2% estimated Share of Search within this set. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Stargazing tours in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-stargazing-tours This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-stargazing-tours. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.