MIQ puts squeeze on Fieldays accommodation

Visitors to Fieldays 2021 are being urged to book their accommodation early as competition for beds is likely to be even more fierce this year.

Held at Mystery Creek near Hamilton, the National Agricultural Fieldays is the largest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere, attracting about 130,000 visitors over four days.

Rooms are always scarce and can cost up to three times the usual rate as farming types flock to Hamilton and the surrounding areas. But with three of the city’s biggest accommodation providers – the Distinction Hotel, the Ibis Hamilton Tainui, and the Jet Park Hamilton Airport Hotel – being used for managed isolation and emergency housing, fewer beds will be available for this year’s event.

Hamilton’s i-Site website shows six of 21 accommodation providers listed have space on June 15, the night before Fieldays begins.

Just two of those are offered at the standard winter rate and the remaining options are priced at up to $600 for a studio room.

The unusual situation has forced the event’s organiser, NZ Fieldays Society, to get creative, hatching a plan to house exhibitors in a fully serviced ‘‘campervan village’’.

The short-term accommodation will be set up at Claudelands Oval, with two-berth and six-berth campers provided by campervan hire and adventure tourism operator Tourism Holdings Ltd.

The society’s head of strategy and customer engagement, Taryn Storey, said the village concept proves where New Zealand’s ‘‘No 8 wire’’ mentality can get you.

‘‘We’ve already received high interest so far from Fieldays exhibitors regarding the village, so it shows the dire need for these accommodation options for large events. I think there is potential for the same fully serviced model to be rolled out for future events nationwide.’’

While accommodating exhibitors is the priority for organisers, options for visitors have been discussed and, if they go ahead, could be announced closer to the event.

Hamilton & Waikato Tourism chief executive Jason Dawson said Fieldays is vital to boosting the local economy and supporting Waikato businesses.

Although the 2020 event was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2019 event generated $183 million in sales revenue for the region, he said. ‘‘Every gate entry results in an estimate of $312 of direct spending into the Waikato visitor sector including accommodation, transport, retail, restaurants, bars, and cafes.’’