Mount Maunganui: Backpackers full amid busy festival season

About 15,000 people went to Bay Dreams on January 3. Photo / Joel McDowell

Backpacker accommodation in Mount Maunganui has been “extremely busy” with festival-goers in the past week, as several large music events have allowed people to “come together and enjoy themselves”.

One owner said it had been “fully booked” by festival-goers for months in advance, while another said many people staying had been going to the Bay Dreams music festival at Baypark on Tuesday.

Thousands of people have attended festivals in Tauranga this holiday season, including Summer Haze, L.A.B Summer Tour, Famous Last Words and Bay Dreams.

About 6000 people were meant to go to A Summer’s Day Live at Baypark on Wednesday but it was cancelled due to safety concerns associated with the weather forecast. And up to 15,000 were expected to attend Juicy Festival yesterday, however, the event was also cancelled due to weather-related safety concerns.

Mount Backpackers owner Jo Veale said it had been “fully booked” for months in advance for the festivals.

“So the festivals do bring people ... who need guaranteed accommodation.

“It’s been a great feeling, definitely. Lots of nice young people, definitely big groups of Kiwis. We were already full with the international backpackers that have arrived since September but these festival people, it’s domestic tourism definitely.

“Those last two weeks, the Mount was humming. It was just so vibrant and it was so great to see.”

Elipsa performing at Bay Dreams. Photo / Joel McDowell

Hugo and Carters Backpackers and Motel owner Emily Gillett said it had been “extremely busy” with many of those staying being festival-goers.

“A lot of people that were staying with us were going to Bay Dreams.”

After years of cancellations due to Covid-19, “it’s great to see it all nice and busy and full again”, she said.

Gillett said it was looking “pretty full” for the next few weeks too, with both domestic and international travellers.

Bay Venues chief executive Chad Hooker said it had been “delighted” at the crowds who had attended Famous Last Words and Bay Dreams held at Trustpower Baypark.

“We have been impressed with the positive crowd behaviour to date and, other than the weather [on Wednesday], we have experienced no significant issues with these events so far.

“While it was disappointing to see A Summer’s Day Live ft UB40 cancelled, this was completely understandable given the terrible weather [on Wednesday] evening and the need to keep people safe.”

The main stage at Bay Dreams festival. Photo / Joel McDowell

Hooker said there were “hundreds” of staff working during the pack-in, pack out and on the day of each event. This included contractors who installed stages, marquees, fencing and generators through to the security, medical and traffic management teams keeping everyone safe.

“We know that by hosting these festivals we keep not just industry suppliers busy, but it also flows through to the local accommodation, hospitality and retail sectors in particular.”

Hooker said while the economic benefits were important, the social benefits were also significant.

“These festivals provide a safe space for locals and visitors alike to come together and enjoy themselves - they send a great message about Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty as a great place to live, study, work and play; and, contribute to pride in our city and region.”

Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt said Tauranga’s summer of festivals played a vital role in the economy.

“Alongside the income these festivals generate for promoters, there is also great benefit for local hospitality and accommodation providers, and contribution towards the costs of our city’s venues.

“Even better, these festivals showcase what a great place our city is.”

Early arrivals at the Summer Haze festival in Tauranga. Photo / Mead Norton

Summer Haze organiser Alex Turnball said returning to Tauranga for a third time was “definitely on the cards”.

“We really enjoyed working at that venue [the Wharepai Domain] and with the venue staff, ie. the council. They just made it really good for us ... we’d want to continue that relationship there.”

Turnball said it hired about 250 people for the event - all bar staff and vendors were local and security was a mix of local and non-local.

“We try to employ as many local people as possible and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Turnball said the festival was “fantastic” with everything running smoothly.

“The weather was amazing and the crowd of several thousand was really well-behaved.”

One Love Festival

The One Love Festival will take place at Tauranga Domain on January 28 and 29 with its owner Glenn Meikle saying he expected about 20,000 people at the festival.

He said Tauranga was a great “central” location for music festivals as it was close to the big populations of Auckland, Hamilton and the wider Bay of Plenty.

It also had a “holiday vibe” with the “beautiful Mount Maunganui beach”.

The One Love Festival at Tauranga Domain in February 2021. Photo / Andrew Warner

The festival started about nine years ago at Soper Reserve in Mount Maunganui. From there, it moved to Wharepai Domain and is now at Tauranga Domain, Meikle said. Last year, the festival was cancelled due to the Covid-19 Omicron outbreak.

“A lot of the staff keep coming back and working. We use the same security company we’ve done for years, I’ve run the bar for years so it’s the same staff ... same production guys and that’s what’s so good about that event.

“Where we can use local, of course, we use local.”