Expect strong tourism growth

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

The district’s tourism upswing reported yesterday — a 14 percent rise in visitor spending for the year to January 31, the highest in the country — is absolutely what we should be seeing, and expect to continue and even gather further momentum.

Much greater resources are being put into tourism promotion, services and product development, with Eastland Community Trust and economic development agency Activate Tairawhiti now responsible for the district’s tourism outcomes.

Plus, our tourism market is relatively undeveloped, is rising from a low base and has a lot of potential — in particular, the opportunity to capitalise on strong demand for cultural experiences, and the industry’s continuous desire for “the latest thing”.

The small contribution of international visitors here — $32m or 19.3 percent of the $166m total, compared to 41.4 percent of tourism spending nationally — is another area of opportunity.

When figures are small, the potential for growth is significantly higher. So it is worth noting that the estimated spend here for the 12 months was by far the lowest in the primary regional breakdown.

The next lowest was Tasman at $298m and, in ascending order, Nelson $370m, Marlborough $401m, Taranaki $411m, West Coast $510m, Hawke’s Bay $648m, Southland $660m, Manawatu-Whanganui $1044m, Northland $1123m, Bay of Plenty $1893m, and so on . . . (for further relevant comparison at smaller regional breakdowns, the estimated spend for Wairoa was $18m, Opotiki $29m, Kaikoura $113m, Whanganui $132m, Whakatane $137m, Hastings district $250m, Napier City $342m, Tauranga City $809m and Rotorua district $816m.)

So a $22m estimated visitor spend for this region in January 2019, up just 5 percent on January 2018 — and lagging behind a 9 percent rise for Waikato, 7 percent for Taranaki, and 6 percent each for Wellington and Tasman — could be seen with some concern.

While these points are all worth making, the strong tourism growth last year is great news and should be celebrated. It is also timely as preparatory work starts on a new terminal for Gisborne Airport.