The scoop on record number of visitors at Festival of Lights
When Angie Orsborn hears that New Plymouth’s Festival of Lights has pumped $9.2 million into the economy, she wonders how much of that was spent on ice cream.
Orsborn owns Pukekura Park’s Tea House, which for much of the year takes a single delivery of ice cream each week to be sold by the scoop from its kiosk during the day.
But over the five weeks of the annual New Plymouth District Council-run festival, the ice-cream truck comes four times a week to replenish the Tea House’s freezers, which get emptied out by the thousands of people who stream into the park each night.
“The queues are massive,” said Orsborn, who employs an extra 18 people each summer to deal with the rush.
“It depends on the weather. If it’s warmer, ice cream and milkshakes. But if it’s cooler, it’s coffee and hot chips. But, really it’s ice creams every day.”
This summer’s TSB Festival of Lights not only added $1.2m more to the economy than last year, it also attracted a record number of people, a new economic report has shown.
About 175,000 people visited the five-week festival, which ran from December 16, 2023, to January 21, 2024. This was a 20% increase on the previous festival’s 140,000 visitors.
The report by Business and Economic Research Ltd (BERL) said 39% of total festival visits (68,250) were made by people from outside Taranaki. Of this group, 69% (47,092) said the festival was their main reason for coming to the region. This year there were 14 light installations and 85 events.
In a statement, New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom said he was not surprised by the continued success of the festival. “It just keeps getting better every year, with mesmerising new light installations and entertainment.”
It attracted “locals and people from all over Aotearoa, helping to create amazing experiences for our people and visitors in our sustainable lifestyle capital”, he said.
“Events like this are vital for our local economy, especially in tough financial times. So I am thrilled to see local businesses reaping the rewards.”
Plymouth International Hotel owner Darrin Muggeridge said the hotel was very busy during the festival. “It brings a lot of business to New
Plymouth in general, and not just to us – to all accommodation and hospitality providers. We’re very lucky to have it.”
Visitors came from all over the country but mainly the North Island, he said. “That also filters down to restaurants, cafes, retail. When people are away, they are shopping as well.”
This year, the festival had a 92% satisfaction rating from visitors and 100% from event performers and entertainers.
Brian Norton, who is the lead singer of local band Fin Rah Zel, which will be playing at Womad this weekend, said the Festival of Lights was a chance for local musicians to gain experience and develop their performance skills.
“A lot of the other options throughout the year are smaller crowds.
“It gives locals the opportunity to get good exposure and play their songs in front of a bigger crowd, which comes with a lot of personal growth and a confidence boost,” Norton said.
“You get some pretty big acts coming in as well, and [as a musician] you’re sharing the stage with them.”
In addition, the community got to see the local talent and how good Taranaki songwriters were, he said.
“It’s a great atmosphere. Everyone seems real receptive, and people are sober. They are there to listen to the music, so it’s a nice crowd who are very welcoming.”
The festival’s free New Year’s Eve event was also popular, with about 7000 people gathering to see in 2024.
Preparation is already under way for the 2024 TSB Festival of Lights Winter PopUp event, which takes place over Matariki weekend from June 27 to 30.
Event details will be announced soon.