Tolaga Bay Holiday Park revamp begins with $4.5m investment

Looking forward to work beginning on a multi-million dollar revamp of the Tolaga Bay Holiday Park are (from left) Hauiti Incorporation’s Susie Te Rere and Chris Torkington, Haze Richardson and Xinyun Zheng from Gisborne Holdings Ltd, Roxine Habib who will be one of the two new managers at the Top 10 Holiday Park, Hauiti’s Hiki Swann, new manager James Habib and GHL’s Jeremy Raymond.

A multimillion-dollar transformation of the Tolaga Bay Holiday Park is one step closer after a handover from Hauiti Incorporation to Gisborne Holdings and a blessing before work starts.

Gisborne Holdings (GHL) will invest about $4.5 million into the holiday park over the next three years – a move welcomed by Hauiti Incorporation chair Hiki Swann.

“We chose to partner with GHL because we share common values,” he said.

“Early in our discussions, Jeremy (Raymond, acting GHL chief executive) and Haze (Richardson – Waikanae Park commercial manager) said they were there for the betterment of our community and not just to make a profit.

“That really resonated deeply with us and helped lay the foundation for this partnership.”

GHL indicated its plans to transform the campground into a Top 10 Holiday Park earlier this year.

The wealth of expertise GHL brought in operating successful campgrounds already gave Hauiti Incorporation confidence in the long-term success of the collaboration.

Raymond said it was an exciting addition to the GHL portfolio, adding another key accommodation option to the region.

“Accommodation is something we know we do well,” he said.

The Waikanae Beach Top 10 Holiday Park remained the region’s largest accommodation provider, hosting about 45,000-50,000 guest nights a year.

“We want to increase our investments in regional accommodation as well as invest up the coast, and this does both while supporting the creation of jobs and boosting the local economy within Ūawa.

“GHL is excited to be part of the Ūawa community by investing into this regional asset.”

Raymond said that having quality accommodation at Tolaga Bay would encourage visitors to be out and about, supporting local businesses.

The campground would be the first Top 10 Holiday Park on the Coast. Swann said its presence would create a new destination for visitors and be a natural pathway from Waikanae.

“It will complement our existing taonga like Cook’s Cove and the possible new cycleway, and we hope it will spark further investment in the restoration of our wharf.”

Outside of tourism, the partnership would also generate employment, support local businesses and provide improved facilities for manuhiri, schools and the wider community, he said.

“Our goal is to create sustainable, long-term benefits for our shareholders, wider community and our whenua.”

Hauiti Incorporation will retain ownership of the land while GHL brings operational expertise to develop and manage the holiday park.

“We will be working closely together to ensure the partnership remains aligned with our shared values and the terms of our agreement,” said Swann.

Newly appointed managers James and Roxine Habib are returning home to Ūawa after living and working away for some time.

It is planned that the holiday park will be open by Christmas.