Promoter Clayton Spence at Joe's Farm venue that will host the Festival of the Other Side. Photo / File
Promoter Clayton Spence at Joe's Farm venue that will host the Festival of the Other Side. Photo / File
An influx of festival-goers and holidaymakers are rolling into Whangamatā with an estimated 15,000 expected at the small beach town's big New Year party.
New event The Festival of the Other Side is set to debut at Joe's Farm on the outskirts of Whangamatā on Wednesday and Thursday.
The holidayhordes have business owners rejoicing, with one telling the Bay of Plenty Times festivals like this were what they "need to survive" post-Covid.
The event sold out of all its 15,000 tickets on Christmas Day, with general summer holiday visitors also pouring into town.
The festival line-up includes big-name Kiwi acts Shapeshifter, L.A.B and David Dallas.
The Other Side festival promoter Clayton Spence said his team were "feeling really good" a day out from the country's second-biggest New Year's festival.
He said the "weather is looking good and the site is looking awesome".
The last few days had been "very, very busy" but he said the team was stoked with how things were looking for the festival's first year.
He said they had only expected to sell about 10,000 tickets and it was "pretty phenomenal" that they had sold out 15,000.
He said organisers had been working closely with police, the council and had sign-off by all residents in the surrounding area, he said.
Shapeshifter will be one of the festival's headliner acts. Photo / Supplied
"We just want to ensure everyone is safe and has a really good time."
He said they would have 150 security guards on site, in surrounding areas and patrolling in Whangamatā.
Security guards would be present on the bus trips to and from the festival and would be around to ensure festival-goers dispersed home when things wrapped up, he said.
He said he hoped that after a "good day out" people would be "ready for bed" by the end of the night.
Residents had been asked to use water carefully to ensure a steady supply in light of water restrictions in Whangamatā.
Crowds had already started rolling into the small beach town when the Bay of Plenty Times called around on Tuesday morning, with many shop owners saying their shops were already filling up.
Owner of Whangamatā's Six Forty Six cafe Ricky Minhas said his whole team was "really excited" and had been getting ready for the influx of people for months.
He had more than doubled his summer staff numbers in preparation and had even put in extra training for them to handle the big numbers.
He said events like this were absolutely vital for the local economy post-Covid and a large boost in visitor numbers was what they "need to survive" right now.
"It really is so important, we rely on this."
The weather both today
and tomorrow was looking sunny with highs of 25 degrees.
Destination Coromandel general manager Hadley Dryden said events like Festival of the Other Side that brought visitors to the region were "more important than ever".
He said they needed to "maximise opportunities" when it came to tapping into the domestic travel market and events like this were crucial to that.
The local economy was missing out on up to $70 million worth of international visitor spend between December and March, he said, with many businesses relying on the "small window of opportunity" the summer brought domestically.
The tourism, retail and hospitality sectors were all doing "pretty well" but others who relied on international tourists were "suffering", he said.
L.A.B will be one of the festival's headliner acts. Photo / Supplied
Businesses had put their support behind events in the town as it pumped money into the local economy, he said.
He encouraged visitors to take care on the roads and be aware of the water shortages while on holiday.
Accommodation providers across Whangamatā were sold out, with house rental sites Airbnb and BookaBach also booked out for the period.
Owner of Breakers Motel, Ross Levy, said they usually sold out pretty early in the season every year as Whangamatā was an attractive Christmas and New Year destination for many.
He said the festival could only be good for the local economy.
Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie said it was going to a "brilliant" few days and she hoped it go off "without a hitch", as festivals in the town had in previous years.
She said earning a living around this time of year was vital for so many families in the area to live and survive.
"People do normally behave themselves on the whole. If people treat it with respect, we can do it again next year."
A police spokeswoman said police would have a presence at the festival and numbers would be based on a "case-by-case basis".
"Our presence will be focused on preventing harm and ensuring revellers stay safe while enjoying themselves. "
St John deputy chief executive Dan Ohs said the busiest time for the ambulance service was on New Year's Eve between 10pm and 2am when calls into the 111 Ambulance Communications Centre triple, with one-third being alcohol-related.
There would be additional ambulances in hot spots on New Year's Eve as they prepared for an influx of calls.
