‘Fantastic result’ as visitor spend rises 15pc

Central Hawke’s Bay is experiencing significant tourism growth with a 15 per cent increase — to $36.8 million — in visitor spend in the region over the 12 months to January.

The growth is a combination of revenue generated from visitors staying in accommodation as well as those stopping for petrol, lunch or to shop locally, all factors that contribute to the spend.

Hawke’s Bay Tourism and Central Hawke’s Bay District Council have worked in partnership since 2014. Through that relationship, a dedicated CHB tourism co-ordinator role was created to promote CHB and support accommodation providers, tourism operators, venues and retailers.

The partnership is proving effective, says tourism co-ordinator Anna Baldwin, with visitor spend growing from $26.2m to $36.8m over the past five years.

“It’s a fantastic result. We have a lot to be proud of here in CHB, people are really taking notice of that and wanting to come and experience CHB for themselves.”

Local tourism operators, cafes and venues are reaping the rewards of a busy summer, with many noting January exceeded expectations.

“It’s all up from here too,” says Ms Baldwin. “The next 12 months are looking great — we’re working on some exciting projects, the recent 60 Days of Summer Facebook campaign was really popular, and we have the Little Easy CHB cycle event coming up on Good Friday and a refresh of the Spring Fling festival.”