Visitors' spend during games a sprint for Hawke's Bay

Hastings Athletics Club athletes found themselves outnumbered by out-of-towners at the recent Colgate Games.

The recent Colgate Games brought a direct spend of $2.1 million to Hawke's Bay according to a survey by the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park Trust.

The games, held annually in the North and South Islands, are for track and field athletes aged between 7 and 14.

Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park Trust chief executive Jock Mackintosh said a survey of 150 of the 3000 spectators and athletes who attended the Games showed 74 per cent were from outside the region and spent $101 a day.

Chairwoman of Accommodation NZ Hawke's Bay sector group Jan Nicol said the accommodation sector was a direct beneficiary of the increase in visitor numbers.

"Most Hastings motels had people staying who were attending the Games," she said.

"This coupled with the cricket camps made it a busy period for the sector. We also find there is a flow on effect because people stay an extra few days and go to places like Splash Planet."

Attendees rated the Sports Park's William Nelson Athletics Precinct an average 9.1 out of ten.

"This is similar to the rating we got when the Games were last held here in 2011," Mr Mackintosh said.

"People, especially visitors, love the venue. It ticks all the boxes and having the Havelock hills as a backdrop is the icing on the cake."

Games organising committee chairwoman Sharee Jones said visitors gave "fantastic feedback".

"An on-site survey rated us an 8.4 out of 10 for event organisation," she said.

"We were rapt with this because it's one of the largest events on the athletics calendar and a huge organisational exercise."

Mr Mackintosh said he would propose the games be held in Hawke's Bay every year instead of being rotated throughout the North Island.

The Monthly Regional Tourism Estimate showed that the Hawke's Bay tourism spend for the year to November had reached an estimated $578 million, a 9 per cent increase on the year previous.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment manager of sector trends Peter Ellis said the international visitor spend rose in November by 13 per cent to $157 million - a 13 per cent increase - while New Zealanders visitors spent 7 per cent more with $421million.

"Tourism spend for the month of November was 17 per cent cup on November 2015.

The Colgate Games will be dwarfed by Te Matatini next month. The games brought 2500 to 3000 people to the Sports Park each day whereas the national kapa haka championships will bring 10,000 to 12,000 people each day.