Coromandel NZ’S ‘worst performer' for tourism
Catalogue of events hamper region
Tourism promotion organisation Destination Hauraki Coromandel (DHC) outlined the financial challenges and opportunities facing primary industry operators in the region after the 2022-23 summer was severely affected by weather events.
In an area already reeling from the economic effects of Covid lockdowns, visitor spending in the Coromandel plummeted. Electronic card spending decreased by $60 million and total regional spending was down 25 per cent in the Januaryjune period, usually the busiest time in the region, when compared with 2021-22.
Region-wide visitor revenue, which includes cash and online spending, was down $90m for the first six months of 2023.
The damage to State Highway 25A, a major thoroughfare in the peninsula, the closure of the walking track at Cathedral Cove, described as a “hero attraction” by DHC, and the lack of a ferry connection from Coromandel to Auckland were cited as contributing factors to the decline in tourism revenue.
The popular summer link to Coromandel is now redundant after Fullers360 confirmed in August that service would be shelved, the ferry operator blaming a shortage of skilled maritime workers and “tough operating conditions”.
In its latest annual report, Destination Hauraki Coromandel says the Coromandel is “the worst-performing region in New Zealand” at a time when growth in travel across the country has been recovering.
Destination Hauraki Coromandel general manager Hadley Dryden said at the recent AGM of the Regional Tourism Organisation for Hauraki and Thames-coromandel districts, the focus was very much on the challenges exposed by the severe weather events in early 2023, and the imperative to seize opportunities to build back better.
“The financial year started well with the team writing the region’s Destination Management Plan (DMP), funding from MBIE allowed a full upgrade of the official regional visitor website and a third Where Kiwis
Holiday summer campaign, which was tracking well.”
“The storms in early 2023 and ongoing bad weather and road closures left Hauraki Coromandel communities in a demoralising situation.”
This had an immediate and devastating impact on many businesses and jobs. Destination Hauraki Coromandel ceased campaign marketing and adapted the work schedule in response
to cascading events, following a simple recovery plan based on business resilience, regional promotion and transport linkages.
“Recent announcements that both the Cathedral Cove walkways and Fullers Coromandel ferry service will not be in operation over the coming summer season raise real concerns that Hauraki Coromandel will continue to lag into 2024-25 as the rest of New Zealand continues to recover.”
Dryden said DHC’S plan for the coming summer was for a full summer campaign, set to kick off from Labour Weekend, using funding received from Thames Coromandel District Council and supported by Hauraki District Council, and stimulate enough visitation to limit ongoing revenue gaps.
He said DHC continued to “advocate strongly for a new funding model for regional tourism organisations and the implementation of destination management plans, with less reliance on local councils to fund the investment required”.
“Hauraki Coromandel is ideally positioned to progress the community’s ambition for tourism to deliver a net positive future — where tourism gives more than it takes.
“However, we cannot achieve material progress in isolation.
“Working together we can seize the opportunity to make good out of a disastrous year.”