Holiday hot spots filling up

Beachside Holiday Park manager Mark Hales says the site's cabins and on-site caravans were booked out by October. Photo / John Borren

Accommodation in the Bay is already close to being booked out for the festive season, the Tauranga Motel Association says.

The Bay of Plenty's popularity as a summer destination meant accommodation was often booked months in advance.

Kaimai View Motel owner, and Tauranga Motel Association president, Bruce Rutherford said accommodation in the Western Bay was well on its way to reaching full capacity.

He said bookings over the summer months were spread from Katikati through to Paengaroa.

"We're not fully booked out just yet but we're heading that way, most places are fairly highly booked so things are looking good for this Christmas," Mr Rutherford said.

He urged people to "hurry up and book" before they missed out.

Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park manager Mark Hales said summer accommodation applications had been taken for some years now but the odd opening would pop up.

"We've got all our applications in now and any available gaps will be filled up with randoms or people ringing us on the off-chance looking for a vacancy," Mr Hales said.

The popular holiday park's cabins and on-site caravans were booked out by October before camping spaces started to fill up by end of November.

"The cabins are pretty consistently booked right through till the end of February, apart from a couple of free nights."

He said "the grid" is looking the same as it did for previous years but hoped a hot summer would bring more people.

Families who returned year after year formed a relationship with park managers.

"We've got one family from out of town who've returned every year for the past 60 years and it's a loyalty and relationship we now have," he said.

Papamoa Beach Resort was also looking forward to a steady, but busy, summer.

General manager Rebecca Crosby said they also had the same families return over the summer period.

"We just love welcoming them back every year and seeing the same faces and everyone catching up again," she said.

The Bay of Plenty's reputation as a holiday destination was getting "bigger and better" but more events were needed during colder months, she said.