Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Business is booming in Whakatāne: 'Our numbers are as good as ever'

RNZ
8 Dec, 2020 11:15 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Julians Berry Farm owner and manager Paul Julian and a staff member. Photo / RNZ - Sarah Robson

Julians Berry Farm owner and manager Paul Julian and a staff member. Photo / RNZ - Sarah Robson

By Sarah Robson of RNZ

Some businesses in the Whakatāne region are expecting a bumper summer, as Kiwis holiday at home and explore their own backyard.

While businesses directly impacted by the Whakaari eruption have taken a big financial hit, others say with the borders closed and New Zealanders holidaying at home, they're busier than ever.

Julians Berry Farm owner and manager Paul Julian said Whakatāne was humming - and this summer could be their best summer yet.

"Post-covid, the traffic in Whakatāne has been at summer levels, and we're not at summer yet," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Our numbers are as good as ever, we've always had constant growth, but they're strong, very strong.

"Just New Zealanders staying and travelling in New Zealand - I think they're quite a powerful economic group."

Julian had been worried about a staff shortage heading into the berry picking season, with no international backpackers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That has not come to fruition.

"We're certainly not desperate for staff, between university students, school students, random people, it's fine, completely fine."

Domestic visitors have always been the biggest tourism market for this part of the Bay of Plenty - in 2019 they made up 80 per cent of the total visitor spend, according to figures from Tourism Bay of Plenty.

Kenny McCracken from KG Kayaks and Mighty Motu Bike Tours said that gave businesses like his reason to be optimistic - especially heading in to summer.

"What we've certainly found since we've been able to move around [after lockdown], is a lot of people are coming here because it's one of those places they've never been to before," he said.

"I'm hoping that we're creating such a positive impression that they won't just be one-off visitors, they'll actually return."

McCracken said there were good signs already.

Ohope beach Photo / RNZ  - Sarah Robson
Ohope beach Photo / RNZ - Sarah Robson

"We also run a bed and breakfast and we've been inundated with enquiries to the point we keep it closed because we can't possibly clean that much."

Over in Ohope, Beachpoint Apartments manager Felicity Johl said while the eruption didn't have a big impact on their bookings.

"Unlike some of the motels in town, where people will come directly for the purposes of going out to White Island, we have people mainly coming on holiday, and may go to White Island."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Covid-19 lockdown in March was a different story.

"It was beautiful in that we had this beautiful place all to ourselves, but we were fully booked, so we just had 100 per cent cancellations."

Johl said they had been much busier than usual over the last few months - even in the typically quiet month of November.

She suspected that with people unable to take their usual overseas trips, they were opting to explore their own backyard, and bookings for summer were looking good - completely booked from before Christmas through to mid-January with more bookings coming in.

"We're hoping that it's going to be a really good summer and New Zealanders are all going to be at home in New Zealand, so they want somewhere nice to go," Johl said.

"And what better place than come to the beach?"

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- RNZ

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM

A family wanted to be left alone to develop their land without council interference.

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP