Tourism bounces back
The sun is out and the spending is up
Businesses in the Taupō region are reporting a bounceback in tourist spending this summer.
After several years of trade disrupted by Covid-19 and the poor weather of 2022-23, tourism operators are generally optimistic about the state of the “new normal”.
Sail Barbary and Kakariki Charter Boat skipper Peter Battell said the season had been smooth sailing so far.
The company runs cruises aboard the electric yacht Barbary II to the Māori rock carvings, as well as the catamaran Kakariki for private parties.
”[It’s been] wonderful. We’ve had full boats all the way through,” Battell said.
“We’ve been enjoying a really good season. Our catamaran has been running as a party boat and that’s been full every Saturday.”
The first half of the season saw mostly domestic visitors, but overseas tourists were starting to filter through in larger numbers.
“Our forward bookings going right through to Easter are really good.”
Things were looking up since the worst years of Covid-19 and this summer had been even better than the last.
Zane Kitchen, business manager for Lake Taupō Hole in One Challenge, also said there was much to be optimistic about.
“It’s going really well [this summer] is the overall sentiment. I think we’re up about 15 per cent on sales since November, and last year was [already] a record year.”
As one of the lakefront’s lower-cost activities, the attraction had bucked the cost-of-living crisis and had seen an increase in both the volume of customers playing and the amount they were spending, he said.
The Hole in One doesn’t keep data on whether customers are from New Zealand or overseas, but Kitchen said there were “definitely more international visitors than there have been, for obvious reasons. We’re probably a 50-50 split would be my best guess.”
Accommodation providers were also doing a roaring trade, said Taupō Top 10 Holiday Park owner Suzi Blank.
The season had been busy, but it was hard to benchmark that against several years of disruption.
It’s the fifth summer that Blank has co-owned the park, along with partner Darren and family members Matt and Kris Blank.
In their first summer, prepandemic, the park was operating independently, later joining the Top 10 brand just before their second summer, when the country was in and out of lockdowns.
After several years of disruption, Blank hoped the 2023-24 season was a taste of things to come.
“This summer, as it stands at the moment, is tracking really well ... it’s probably the best summer we’ve had.
“Things are looking really good, but we don’t actually know what normal is.”
The park had shaken up its offering, installing a new pool, which had proven popular with spendingconscious families.
“Cost of living is a big factor. I think the pool for us is a big pull in that area because people are hanging about here.
“People say ‘Okay, we’ll go and put a tent up and hang by the pool, go to the lake. We’re very blessed in Taupō that we’ve got things we can do for free.”
Most of the park’s custom came from the domestic market, Blank said. “Probably I would say it’s 75 per cent domestic. For us, the internationals are the cream on top.”
The optimism from business owners was backed up by data from Amplify, Taupō ‘s economic development agency, which showed spending was up on last year for the period to early January.
Marketview data, which is based on card transactions, showed spending was up by 4.42 per cent for the seven weeks before January 15, chief executive officer Rick Keehan said.
“The week before Christmas was up 12 per cent. However, the following week, between Christmas and New Year, was down about 9 per cent.
“So, there was more spending preChristmas and [it was] lighter over that Christmas and New Year week, perhaps due to the great weather.”