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RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
'Quite a bump': Rotorua lures more Auckland visitors
Tourist photograph the Tourism Rotorua building. Photo: Andrew Warner Rotorua is experiencing a surge in domestic tourism, with new figures showing an increase in visitor numbers, spending and accommodation occupancy. Local leaders say the boost reflects growing confidence in the city as a destination, following years of disruption from Covid-19 and emergency housing . Figures via RotoruaNZ, the council-controlled tourism organisation, showed an uptick in Kiwis heading to Rotorua for a holiday. "I've received lots of great feedback from locals who have appreciated the boost in business and also seeing Rotorua thrive again," said Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. The mayor praised the 'Robe Trip' marketing campaign, which was aimed at highlighting Rotorua's standing as a destination for luxury and relaxation. The campaign ran over six weeks in February and March across multiple media, including a television ad featuring Tapsell. According to figures the council released to the Taxpayers' Union in March, the ad cost just under $94,000 to produce and broadcast. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said they were very pleased with the results of the Robe Trip campaign. About three-quarters (73 percent) of Aucklanders surveyed would consider Rotorua for a holiday or breakaway after the campaign, up from 34 percent pre-campaign. "This was a bold and deliberate move to reposition Rotorua in the minds of New Zealanders - especially young and mid-life Auckland couples - as a destination for luxury, relaxation and indulgence." RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson. Photo: Andrew Warner Over the course of the campaign, there was a 9.4 percent increase in visitor spend by Aucklanders in the city and a 5 percent year-on-year rise in hotel occupancy. In comparison, there were 1.4 percent and 4.4 percent decreases respectively across the nation. Spending by domestic visitors from across the whole of New Zealand, not just Auckland, went up 14.3 percent year-on-year in Rotorua in May - compared to a 0.1 percent drop nationally. In addition, 76 percent of New Zealanders surveyed rated Rotorua as appealing to visit, with 35 percent intending to do so in the next 12 months. Traditionally, Rotorua's heritage has marked it as the birthplace of Kiwi tourism, but it had also grown into a mecca for adventure seekers, Wilson said. "The push towards luxury and relaxation is not about abandoning our adventure roots. "It's about expanding our narrative. Rotorua has always been a place of restoration and manaakitanga [hospitality]. We're simply reminding Kiwis of that in a fresh, relatable way," Wilson said. Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button. Photo: Andrew Warner The recent rise in domestic tourism has also been noticed by those in the industry. Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button said he has seen an improvement domestically compared to 12 months ago. Last year, the country was in the grip of the cost-of-living crisis as households tightened budgets and went without getaways, he said. "I don't think there's one silver bullet," said Button. "Last year, domestically, it fell off. We had an abrupt drop in May and our research suggested it was economy-related. "It's definitely still tough out there and I am not going to pretend it's not but interest rates have dropped and things might be getting better." Button said Rotorua's desirability had also returned. The pandemic had a major impact on the city, while the subsequent period of emergency housing compounded the city's tourism struggles, he said. Emergency housing motels in Rotorua are being wound down by the government, with a plan to stop contracting motels by the end of 2025 . Hennessey's Bar owner Reg Hennessey. Photo: Andrew Warner "A lot less use of motels for social housing has really helped," said Reg Hennessey, owner of the locally famous Hennessey's Irish Bar on Tutanekai St. "This school holiday was good and domestic tourism has definitely picked up, it's taken quite a bump this year. "Now we are just getting the good word back out to New Zealand that it's a safe town and people can always feel safe here because of the way it's operated." Tapsell also highlighted new efforts to attract more international visitors, as Rotorua Lakes Council funded promotion through an economic development rate on short-term accommodation providers. "Tourism and hospitality contribute significantly to jobs in Rotorua," she said. "Attracting visitors can be very competitive, not just to get them to our district, but also to our country. It's important that we don't get complacent, so we've put a lot of effort and smart investment into unique initiatives to promote Rotorua." She said the council was excited to continue to see the results of this. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Domestic tourism surges in Rotorua as Aucklanders return
The mayor praised the 'Robe Trip' marketing campaign, which was aimed at highlighting Rotorua's standing as a destination for luxury and relaxation. The campaign ran over six weeks in February and March across multiple media, including a television ad featuring Tapsell. According to figures the council released to the Taxpayers' Union in March, the ad cost just under $94,000 to produce and broadcast. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said they were very pleased with the results of the Robe Trip campaign. About three-quarters (73%) of Aucklanders surveyed would consider Rotorua for a holiday or breakaway after the campaign, up from 34% pre-campaign. 'This was a bold and deliberate move to reposition Rotorua in the minds of New Zealanders – especially young and mid-life Auckland couples – as a destination for luxury, relaxation and indulgence.' Over the course of the campaign, there was a 9.4% increase in visitor spend by Aucklanders in the city and a 5% year-on-year rise on hotel occupancy. In comparison, there were 1.4% and 4.4% decreases respectively across the nation. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson. Photo / Laura Smith Spending by domestic visitors from across the whole of New Zealand, not just Auckland, went up 14.3% year-on-year in Rotorua in May – compared to a 0.1% drop nationally. In addition, 76% of New Zealanders surveyed rated Rotorua as appealing to visit, with 35% intending to do so in the next 12 months. Traditionally, Rotorua's heritage has marked it as the birthplace of Kiwi tourism, but it had also grown into a mecca for adventure seekers, Wilson said. 'The push towards luxury and relaxation is not about abandoning our adventure roots. 'It's about expanding our narrative. Rotorua has always been a place of restoration and manaakitanga [hospitality]. We're simply reminding Kiwis of that in a fresh, relatable way,' Wilson said. The recent rise in domestic tourism has also been noticed by those in the industry. Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button said he has seen an improvement domestically compared to 12 months ago. Last year, the country was in the grip of the cost-of-living crisis as households tightened budgets and went without getaways, he said. Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button. Photo / Andrew Warner 'I don't think there's one silver bullet,' said Button. 'Last year, domestically, it fell off. We had an abrupt drop in May and our research suggested it was economy-related. 'It's definitely still tough out there and I am not going to pretend it's not but interest rates have dropped and things might be getting better.' Button said Rotorua's desirability had also returned. The pandemic had a major impact on the city, while the subsequent period of emergency housing compounded the city's tourism struggles, he said. Emergency housing motels in Rotorua are being wound down by the Government, with a plan to stop contracting motels by the end of 2025. Hennessey's Irish Bar owner Reg Hennessey. Photo / Andrew Warner 'A lot less use of motels for social housing has really helped,' said Reg Hennessey, owner of the locally famous Hennessey's Irish Bar on Tutanekai St. 'This school holiday was good and domestic tourism has definitely picked up, it's taken quite a bump this year. 'Now we are just getting the good word back out to New Zealand that it's a safe town and people can always feel safe here because of the way it's operated.' Tapsell also highlighted new efforts to attract more international visitors, as Rotorua Lakes Council funded promotion through an economic development rate on short-term accommodation providers. 'Tourism and hospitality contribute significantly to jobs in Rotorua,' she said. 'Attracting visitors can be very competitive, not just to get them to our district, but also to our country. It's important that we don't get complacent, so we've put a lot of effort and smart investment into unique initiatives to promote Rotorua.' She said the council was excited to continue to see the results of this. Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years. – LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
04-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Rotorua tourism, hospo businesses concerned about exchange rate fluctuations
The Rotorua Museum - Most survey respondents were from tourism, accommodation, or hospitality and food service. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith The latest Rotorua business sentiment survey shows local companies are not immune to global instability. Geopolitical volatility was the highest-ranked concern for business leaders, with 43 percent very or extremely concerned about its effect on their business. This was the first time global concerns had outweighed local issues, such as finding skilled staff, the survey showed. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said this showed many business leaders were very connected with their global markets. Most respondents were from tourism, accommodation, or hospitality and food service. While these might be less affected by tariffs then export-led industries, Wilson said geopolitical volatility led to fluctuations in exchange rates, which effected the value of a visitor dollar. "Obviously, when we've got a weaker New Zealand dollar, we look very favourable for international tourism." He said the key for businesses riding out this volatility was having diversity in the markets they targeted. "Within those international markets, have you got a good spread in terms of the types of countries you are focused on, so you're not ending up in a scenario where you've got all your eggs in one basket." This was similar to other industries, like agriculture , which was also encouraged to look for new markets. Wilson said he wasn't completely surprised to see the survey result. "We've got a local economy, which is quite export-focused, so from that perspective, whether it is tourism or forestry or wood processing, what's happening in that global environment is really important for local businesses." RotoruaNZ began the business sentiment survey three years ago to get a better view of what was happening in the city's economy. "A lot of banks do business confidence surveys, but we found a lot of the data was aggregated up at a regional or national level, so it was really about making sure we've got a view about what is going on in our local economy here in Rotorua," he said. Business sentiment was up 14 percent since the last survey in October 2024, but was still a net negative of minus-11 percent - higher than the national figure of minus-29 percent, but Wilson said the trend toward positivity was a good sign. "Certainly, that advance-metric of the positivity trend up is a really good signal in terms of what we will start to see over the next 12-24 months in terms of business activity." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
31-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Rotorua tourism, hospo businesses concered about exchange rate fluctuations
The Rotorua Museum - Most survey respondents were from tourism, accommodation, or hospitality and food service. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith The latest Rotorua business sentiment survey shows local companies are not immune to global instability. Geopolitical volatility was the highest-ranked concern for business leaders, with 43 percent very or extremely concerned about its effect on their business. This was the first time global concerns had outweighed local issues, such as finding skilled staff, the survey showed. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said this showed many business leaders were very connected with their global markets. Most respondents were from tourism, accommodation, or hospitality and food service. While these might be less affected by tariffs then export-led industries, Wilson said geopolitical volatility led to fluctuations in exchange rates, which effected the value of a visitor dollar. "Obviously, when we've got a weaker New Zealand dollar, we look very favourable for international tourism." He said the key for businesses riding out this volatility was having diversity in the markets they targeted. "Within those international markets, have you got a good spread in terms of the types of countries you are focused on, so you're not ending up in a scenario where you've got all your eggs in one basket." This was similar to other industries, like agriculture , which was also encouraged to look for new markets. Wilson said he wasn't completely surprised to see the survey result. "We've got a local economy, which is quite export-focused, so from that perspective, whether it is tourism or forest or wood processing, what's happening in that global environment is really important for local businesses." RotoruaNZ began the business sentiment survey three years ago to get a better view of what was happening in the city's economy. "A lot of banks do business confidence surveys, but we found a lot of the data was aggregated up at a regional or national level, so it was really about making sure we've got a view about what is going on in our local economy here in Rotorua," he said. Business sentiment was up 14 percent since the last survey in October 2024, but was still a net negative of minus-11 percent - higher than the national figure of minus-29 percent, but Wilson said the trend toward positivity was a good sign. "Certainly, that advance-metric of the positivity trend up is a really good signal in terms of what we will start to see over the next 12-24 months in terms of business activity." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
29-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Rotorua survey: Business confidence up, focus on air connectivity and growth
Air connectivity and a greater collaboration between business, key stakeholders, and local and central government are common themes in the latest Rotorua Business Pulse Survey. The twice-yearly survey was released this week by RotoruaNZ and the Rotorua Business Chamber, who said in a press release that it reflected a 'greater
