Road-travelling tourists who pave their way with money are most welcome in Whangarei.
The city rolls out a red carpet for the many thousands of people who visit the city in motor homes annually, each spending an average $70 a day.
"They're good spenders," Mayor Morris Cutforth said, beaming happily, as he welcomed Motor Caravan Association representatives bearing gifts to a meeting of the Whangarei District Council last week.
Association board member Dawn Fellows presented Mr Cutforth with a framed certificate awarding Whangarei "motor home friendly" status.
The association also gave the council two roadside signs. Expected to be erected alongside State Highway 1 at the northern and southern entrances to Whangarei, they declare the city to be "Motorhome friendly".