No spending boom for Tauranga

Cities and towns across New Zealand experienced a spending boom during the Rugby World Cup opening weekend - but the Bay of Plenty suffered a serious drop in spending.

The region had a 5.7 per cent decrease in spending in the hospitality sector from Friday to Sunday, according to latest figures released from Paymark, which processes electronic transactions throughout New Zealand.

As well as the Bay of Plenty, Paymark figures showed spending was down in the Wairarapa (-23,4 per cent), Palmerston North (-11.2 per cent), Marlborough (-7.4 per cent) and Hawke's Bay (-4.4 per cent).

Max Mason, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive, told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend the reason for the poor start to the World Cup was because people were so focused on the rugby side of the tournament rather than the business side.

"Sometimes people are a little slow to engage in events like this and they don't quite understand the scale of it and the excitement it will bring and a lot of people would have only been thinking about the rugby side of things up until now," Mr Mason said.

"There's been a lot of media hype and it's been the topic of a lot of watercooler conversations but underneath it all, the reason for New Zealand as the host of this event is for the business and I think people are now beginning to think about that."

Mr Mason said there would be a huge economic benefit for Tauranga and greater New Zealand as a direct result of the Cup as people began to "really get involved in it".

"One thing I love about New Zealand is the way people are extremely hospitable. We're a very passionate nation, this is a fantastic time for us and I think the country will do very well."

As well as bringing economic benefits, Mr Mason said the World Cup could "lift our spirits" and "increase confidence", which was just as important in the current economic climate.

While Tauranga is missing out on games, he urged people to get out and watch the games from a restaurant or a pub.

"Even though we don't have a dedicated fan zone, the most important thing for Tauranga is when there are games, for people to get out and support it. Don't sit at home, get out and enjoy the game with other people," Mr Mason said.

"I was fortunate enough to be in Europe during the last World Cup and we watched a number of games from pubs and the camaraderie, fun and memorability I got from that was wonderful."

While spending was down in the Bay of Plenty during the Cup opening weekend, the region noted almost a 10 per cent increase on spending for the first week of September when compared with the same time last year.

In the week from September 1-8, the region saw a 9.8 per cent increase in spending across a range of sectors, excluding fuel. In the same week, the number of electronic transactions increased 9.9 per cent, from 833,000 in 2010 to 916,000 in 2011.

Downtown Tauranga's Kirby Weis had not noticed a significant increase in spending.

"The feeling, the atmosphere has been fantastic, whether people have been spending or not and it's about people getting caught up in the RWC," he said.

Mr Weis said the Cup opening night was "buzzing" in Tauranga but said things "might have tailed out a bit with so many people having Sky TV", which could have some effect on people not going in to town.

Mount Maunganui mainstreet manager Leanne Brown said it was too early to tell whether spending had increased in the area.