By virtue of its great natural features, Milford Sound has long since become a major tourist attraction, receiving numbers of visitors unprecedented for such a remote location, over 550,000 per year. This was expected to rise to 750,000 by 2012. The expected rise in numbers did not happen as a result of the recession and other unknown factors. A study has found that of all tourists travelling the South Island of New Zealand in summer, 54% travelled the Milford Road at some point.