Busy tourist season expected this year

Northland beaches are expected to be a popular destination for holiday-goers this year.

Northland residents will stay home in droves this summer and enjoy a "stay-cation".

According to data released by the Fresh Information Company, 141,977 Northland residents surveyed stayed home last summer between November 2013 and February 2014.

For those who headed away, the most popular destination was Auckland, with 122,053 headed to the City of Sails.

This was followed by the Waikato with an average of 32,814 Northland visitors.

Fresh Information managing director Shane Vuletich said this year should be similar to 2013.

"Domestic tourism is pretty stable over time. There is a pretty well-established pattern with people fleeing to the beach and that is just going to continue, there will be no change in that."

Mr Vuletich said Kiwis should expect busy holiday spots with plenty of overseas visitors.

"I would expect this summer to be a big one because the economy is quite buoyant. It will be up a little bit from last year, around 3-5 per cent but not radically different. Where there will be a radical change is the level of international visitors.

"International tourism is coming back strongly and this summer it will be the strongest ever for overseas visitors, which reinforces the domestic tourism feeling.

"The combined effect of domestic and international is going to be quite good for beach areas around New Zealand."

Mr Vuletich said spending habits change markedly over the summer, with retail, food and beverage spending declining.

"People aren't spending much on retail when they are on holiday and they generally stock up at a local supermarket on food before heading to the beach and survive on that over their time away.

"The migration to the beach changes people's behaviour quite significantly and the average spend per night away from home is actually lower than other times of the year.

"Most people, they go to the beach and camp or stay in a bach with friends and family and don't spend that much. They tend to fish for their food or cook sausages on the barbecue and tend not to consume the same way as in the winter time."

Among these beach-goers, Northland resident Michael Alldred said he planned to head to the coast with family for the summer break.

"My family and I usually head to Ohawini Bay. My parents have got a house out there and it's really great to go there for a break after working in the hospitality industry.

"We spend the time taking walks up the beach, there are actually a few bays up there so we go and see friends, we do a bit of fishing and swimming is guaranteed." Northland residents staying close to home can likewise expect "tourists and Aucklanders" on local beaches.

In 2013, 1,021,900 Kiwis headed up north for their summer getaways.

Around 633,726 Aucklanders headed to Northland for a vacation while 74,639 Waikato residents were the second largest group of visitors to the region.