January was Hawke's Bay's biggest tourism month

A packed Waipatiki Beach, with tourism numbers in Hawke's Bay up 5% compared to January 2018. Photo / Supplied

January was Hawke's Bay's largest ever month for tourism according to a report from Statistics New Zealand.

The Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates (MRTE) showed tourists spent $80 million across the region in January 2019, an increase of 5 per cent from January 2018.

Nationally, tourism spending improved by 3 per cent when comparing January 2018 and January 2019.

The result put Hawke's Bay fifth best among 16 regions.

It was international tourists driving the increase, especially our Australian friends from across the ditch.

International spending increased 9 per cent between January 2018 and 2019, with $25 million spent.

Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas believes the growth can be attributed to a range of factors.

"The unprecedented line-up of events has clearly made an impact on January visitation, as has the increase in visits by cruise ships."

"Hawke's Bay Tourism also made the decision to invest in a Tourism New Zealand-led campaign which targeted major Australian markets mid-last year, which would appear to be paying dividends.

"We're thrilled to see Hawke's Bay's visitor economy evolving in ways that will hopefully ensure value can continue to grow during a period which is forecast to deliver a few more headwinds."

Hawke's Bay Tourism was also working with Tourism New Zealand to work with international journalists, from Germany, Malaysia, Canada, and Japan, as well as domestic journalists, to encourage them to come to Hawke's Bay on "familiarisation" trips.
Dundas said this could build up a profile for Hawke's Bay far greater than what advertising could achieve.

"The success of these opportunities relies heavily on the support of our local tourism businesses who recognise their value by offering free or substantially discounted experiences."

A significant milestone has also been reached on the region's award-winning digital platform at www.hawkesbaynz.com user sessions having topped 500,000 in the 12 months to the end of February.