Ka¯ piti emerging as top tourist spot
Ka¯ piti is emerging as one of New Zealand’s hottest eco-tourism destinations as district looks to bolster its infrastructure and becomes more accessible to tourists.
Ka¯ piti has some of the best ecotourism offerings in New Zealand, including Ka¯ piti Island Nature Tours which won the Environmental Tourism Award at the New Zealand Tourism Awards held in Christchurch recently.
As the district poises for increasing visitor interest in what Ka¯ piti has to offer, council and the community continue to work together to plan future tourism development projects to support that tourism growth.
The opening of Transmission Gully in 2020 will make the area a more desirable place to live while strengthening business development and visitor attraction opportunities, WREDA, the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency said.
Air access to Ka¯ piti has been assured with Air Chathams recently launching its 36 flights a week service between Ka¯ piti and Auckland.
It allows the district to directly tap into tourists arriving in Auckland, which is New Zealand’s main entry point for international visitors.
The council says it is well prepared for increased interest from tourists with the launch earlier this year of the new destination website and digital platform kapiticoastnz.com, created in collaboration with the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency.
The site shows Ka¯ piti in all its breath-taking beauty and invites potential visitors to explore, do business and enjoy what Ka¯ piti has to offer.
Ka¯ piti mayor K Gurunathan said developing and maintaining an attractive and inspiring online visitor presence is a hugely important part of the economic development activity which the council supports through its destination marketing work.
“The site is an innovative tool that supports and enhances the visitor information and attraction service offered by our local i-Site team based in Paraparaumu.”
He said the launch of the site couldn’t have been more timely, with visitor spending and international guest nights both increasing.
International visitor spending in Ka¯ piti increased by 10.6 per cent to $34 million in the year ending July 2018, according to MBIE’s July Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates.
It also revealed that spending from Chinese visitors alone increased by 41 per cent to $2.2 million over the same period.
Statistics New Zealand’s Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM) for June 2018 also shows Ka¯ piti enjoyed a 4.8 per cent increase in international guest nights for the year ending June 2018, compared to the previous year.
This was offset by a 3.5 per cent fall in domestic guest nights over the same period.
The CAM also reveals the average length of stay for visitors in commercial accommodation over the past five years in Ka¯ piti was 2.23 days, ahead of Auckland (2.04 days) and Wellington City (2.12 days).
WREDA chief executive Lance Walker said the door to the district is swinging wide open as more people discover its range of attractions including eco-tourism, the world-class Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, and the home of kiwi craft beer pioneers Tuatara.
“Ka¯ piti is a part of the Wellington region that has outstanding natural beauty including the world class, predator-free charm of Ka¯ piti Island. These sorts of eco-attractions are gaining in popularity amongst tourists worldwide.
“We look forward to working closely with the council to grow the region as a tourist destination and key part of our wider Wellington tourism proposition. Securing air links with Auckland through Air Chathams was an important step, as the opening of Transmission Gully in a couple of years will also prove to be.
“Exciting times are in store for Ka¯ piti.”