Just days before Taranaki’s latest research data on visiting friends and families is released, the region’s tourism sector is reporting a buoyant start to the full-on summer season.
A survey of I-SITES and the accommodation sector by Venture Taranaki tourism staff this week shows anecdotal evidence of large increases in overseas visitors, particularly from Australia and the United Kingdom, the region’s two major international markets.
Also healthy are numbers visiting the region to attend summer events such as Pukekura Park’s TSB Bank Festival of Lights, or to drive along Surf Highway 45 and Forgotten World Highway 43, Taranaki’s two scenic highways.
I-SITES in New Plymouth, Stratford and Hawera have reported increases in international visitors of up to 30% in December, although the majority of Taranaki’s summer visitors continue to be New Zealanders on holiday.
Later this week, research findings presented by APR Consultants (Rotorua) will show, for the first time in nine years, the numbers of people visiting the region to see friends and relatives.
Venture Taranaki’s tourism project manager Brad Monaghan says official figures from sources such as Statistics New Zealand only take into account data from accommodation providers, and do not include people staying in private homes.
“The research Venture Taranaki has contracted will provide full statistics on exactly how many people are visiting the region,” he says.
“This data will be extremely important in several ways, but particularly in planning for future tourism strategies, marketing initiatives and ascertaining the sector’s value. The figures should give Taranaki a firmer grasp of exactly where we sit.”
November 2005’s figures will be released early next week, and continue to be available on a monthly basis.
Mr Monaghan says tourist favourites this summer include perennial choices such as Mt Taranaki and its hiking trails, the TSB Bank Festival of Lights, the unique cultural amenities such as Puke Ariki and Tawhiti Museum, plus the line-up of concerts scheduled for the TSB Bowl of Brooklands between Christmas and March.
In the accommodation sector, motels report a buoyant summer so far. Mr Monaghan says some country hotels are booked out during the week – unprecedented two years ago – due in part to ongoing publicity about the region’s character-packed rural accommodation providers.
“Caravan parks seem to be busy, especially coastal ones, and the hotel sector is ticking over,” Mr Monaghan says. “Many of Taranaki’s hotels cater more to business travel than leisure, yet they are steady for this period of the year.”
Venture Taranaki reported late last year an extra 130,000 guest nights in commercial accommodation in the year ended October 2005, equating to a 34% increase over the same period three years ago. Nationally, guest night figures increased over the same period by 10%.
The last 18 months have seen major investment by two national accommodation chains into Taranaki, which Mr Monaghan says is encouraging as the region continues to gain traction into international markets.
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