---
title: "Wai-O-Tapu vs Waitomo Glowworm Caves: Which is searched more in New Zealand?"
description: "Is Wai-O-Tapu or Waitomo Glowworm Caves more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Visitor attractions set in New Zealand. 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/compare/wai-o-tapu-vs-waitomo-glowworm-caves"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Wai-O-Tapu vs Waitomo Glowworm Caves: Which is searched more in New Zealand?

Is Wai-O-Tapu or Waitomo Glowworm Caves more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Visitor attractions set in New Zealand. 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

- **Compared**: Wai-O-Tapu and Waitomo Glowworm Caves
- **Competitive set**: Visitor attractions
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Wai-O-Tapu Share of Search**: 5.6%
- **Waitomo Glowworm Caves Share of Search**: 9.6%

## Is Wai-O-Tapu or Waitomo Glowworm Caves more popular in search?

- In September 2026, Waitomo Glowworm Caves had more branded searches than Wai-O-Tapu among visitor attractions in New Zealand. Waitomo Glowworm Caves had about 48,000 branded searches, while Wai-O-Tapu had 28,000. Waitomo Glowworm Caves made up 9.6% of all visitor attraction searches we track, and Wai-O-Tapu accounted for 5.6%.
- Waitomo Glowworm Caves was ahead of Wai-O-Tapu in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Wai-O-Tapu’s share of searches among visitor attractions in New Zealand moved from 7% to 5.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 42K to 28K.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Waitomo Glowworm Caves’ share of searches among visitor attractions in New Zealand moved from 8.5% to 9.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 51.4K to 48K.

## Top visitor attractions in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Wai-O-Tapu was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Waitomo Glowworm Caves was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Waitomo Glowworm Caves was listed before Wai-O-Tapu in two out of three answers.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hobbiton Movie Set | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| Te Puia | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| Waitomo Glowworm Caves | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Wai-O-Tapu | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| Skyline Rotorua | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Weta Workshop | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Waitangi Treaty Grounds | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Sky Tower | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Rainbow's End | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Skyline Queenstown | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Kelly Tarlton's | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| International Antarctic Centre | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Shotover Jet | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Larnach Castle | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Agrodome | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| All Blacks Experience | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about visitor attractions

- Asked ChatGPT "Which visitor attraction should I book in New Zealand?": 1. Hobbiton Movie Set, 2. Waitomo Glowworm Caves, 3. Te Puia, 4. Weta Workshop
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best visitor attractions in New Zealand?": 1. Hobbiton Movie Set, 2. Te Puia, 3. Waitomo Glowworm Caves, 4. Wai-O-Tapu, 5. Waitangi Treaty Grounds
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best visitor attraction in New Zealand for a day out?": 1. Te Puia, 2. Hobbiton Movie Set, 3. Wai-O-Tapu, 4. Skyline Rotorua
- Searched Google, AI Overview "queenstown attractions": 1. Shotover Jet
- Searched Google, AI Overview "rotorua attractions nz": 1. Te Puia, 2. Wai-O-Tapu, 3. Skyline Rotorua

Not named in any answer: Sky Tower, Rainbow's End, Skyline Queenstown, Kelly Tarlton's, International Antarctic Centre, Larnach Castle, Agrodome and All Blacks Experience.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 19, 2026.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand visitor attractions in September 2026?

- In September 2026, Wai-O-Tapu overtook Skyline Rotorua to rank 7th among visitor attractions in New Zealand, with 5.6% of the searches.
- In September 2026, Waitomo Glowworm Caves rose from 6th to 5th among visitor attractions in New Zealand.

## Month by month

| Month | Wai-O-Tapu estimated searches | Wai-O-Tapu Share of Search | Wai-O-Tapu rank | Waitomo Glowworm Caves estimated searches | Waitomo Glowworm Caves Share of Search | Waitomo Glowworm Caves rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 42K | 7% | 7 | 51.4K | 8.5% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | 62K | 9% | 6 | 66.9K | 9.7% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | 76.7K | 8.6% | 6 | 82.5K | 9.3% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | 76.6K | 8.1% | 7 | 99.2K | 10.5% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | 75.8K | 10.1% | 4 | 75.8K | 10.1% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | 62.4K | 9.1% | 5 | 80.7K | 11.8% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | 51K | 7.7% | 7 | 62.4K | 9.5% | 4 |
| May 2026 | 34.1K | 6.9% | 7 | 43.3K | 8.8% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | 18.8K | 4.4% | 10 | 43.4K | 10.1% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | 28.1K | 4.9% | 9 | 53.8K | 9.5% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | 23K | 4.9% | 8 | 43K | 9.2% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | 28K | 5.6% | 7 | 48K | 9.6% | 5 |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Wai-O-Tapu’s and Waitomo Glowworm Caves’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Wai-O-Tapu**: Measured on the search terms “wai o tapu”, “wai o tapu boardwalk”, “wai o tapu geyser”, “wai o tapu shuttle”, “wai o tapu thermal”, “wai o tapu tickets”, “wai o tapu tour”, “waiotapu”, “waiotapu loop road” and “waiotapu scenic reserve”, summed into one figure.
- **Waitomo Glowworm Caves**: Measured on the search terms “waitomo caves”, “waitomo caves booking”, “waitomo caves lost world”, “waitomo caves museum”, “waitomo caves tickets”, “waitomo caves tour”, “waitomo caves walk”, “waitomo glowworm caves”, “waitomo glowworm caves tickets” and “waitomo glowworm caves tour”, summed into one figure.

- [Wai-O-Tapu profile](/demand/nz/brands/wai-o-tapu)
- [Waitomo Glowworm Caves profile](/demand/nz/brands/waitomo-glowworm-caves)
- [All visitor attractions in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-visitor-attractions): The set both shares are measured inside, 16 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Wai-O-Tapu or Waitomo Glowworm Caves more popular in search?

In September 2026, Waitomo Glowworm Caves had more branded searches than Wai-O-Tapu among visitor attractions in New Zealand. Waitomo Glowworm Caves had about 48,000 branded searches, while Wai-O-Tapu had 28,000. Waitomo Glowworm Caves made up 9.6% of all visitor attraction searches we track, and Wai-O-Tapu accounted for 5.6%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Wai-O-Tapu vs Waitomo Glowworm Caves: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/wai-o-tapu-vs-waitomo-glowworm-caves

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/wai-o-tapu-vs-waitomo-glowworm-caves. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.