Kiwi holidaymakers ensure Napier economy hits highs and breaks records

Faraday Centre had its biggest day ever during school holidays. Photo / Paul Taylor

Kiwis love everything Napier has to offer, ensuring the traditional tourist spots are tracking towards record years.

The Faraday Centre experienced its biggest day ever during the recent school holidays with nearly 600 people visiting on one day.

The Faraday Centre is Hawke's Bay's Museum of Technology. The collection at the centre is owned by the Hawke's Bay Museums Trust and managed by the Napier City Council.

It's a place of discovery where history comes alive through hands-on experience. Rather than read and look at pieces of history, people are encouraged to touch and hold items, pull levers and discover how things would've been in days gone by.

Kennedy Park Resort, the National Aquarium and Par 2 mini-golf were also on track for record years, bouncing back 100 per cent from a turbulent 12 months.

Likewise, Bay Skate has had a bumper year with the past month seeing more people through the door than ever, with 40 per cent of visitors coming from out of town.

Napier City Council mayor Kirsten Wise was thrilled by the local support for Napier's activities, destinations and recreational facilities.

"Those records have been made in a year that was three months short because we couldn't operate in the first quarter," Wise said.

"And in a year where we haven't had many of the mainstays of our tourism market."

As well as a pandemic lockdown and serious flooding, Napier had been hit by the absence of cruise ships, which played a significant part in tourism in the past.

"The successes are because of people: the people who work in the facilities giving it their all, and the visitors who have prioritised supporting Napier and what it has to offer," Wise said.

"Having visitors in our city is great for the whole community, there are lots of flow-on effects and it bolsters all of us and keeps our economy buzzing."