Napier Art Deco Festival 2024: Millions pumped into Hawke’s Bay economy, report says

Napier’s 2024 Art Deco Festival organisers say it injected $8.7 million into the Hawke’s Bay economy and had a $22m gross benefit for the wider New Zealand economy.

They now fear proposed cuts to Hawke’s Bay Tourism could have “dire consequences” for the promotion of the festival.

After a four-year hiatus due to Covid-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle, more than 50,000 people attended an Art Deco event in early February 2024.

According to a report by Event Economics, a division of Fresh Info, 10 per cent of attendees were international visitors who spent an estimated $9m while in New Zealand and on average stayed for almost three weeks.

Proposed funding cuts to Hawke's Bay Tourism could have "dire consequences" regarding the marketing of the Art Deco Festival, organisers say. Photo / Paul Taylor

However, there is concern the proposed defunding of Hawke’s Bay Tourism, currently receiving $1.52m annually from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, would lead to a halt in promotional activities for regional tourism, including the Art Deco Trust, from July of this year.

Hawke’s Bay Tourism’s members currently pay about $160,000 a year to the organisation for annual membership.

Hawke’s Bay Tourism has said the loss of funding would mean closing Hawke’s Bay Tourism’s website and severing its connections with local, national and international media outlets.

“We work very closely with Hawke’s Bay Tourism to drive visitation to the region, and any disruption in these marketing activities would have dire consequences on the established marketing infrastructure,” Art Deco Trust chairwoman Barbara Arnott said.

Arnott said even a temporary hiatus in marketing activities would be “devastating for the region as a whole” and labelled the potential defunding as “Draconian” decision-making.

“Hawke’s Bay Regional Council was identified as the most appropriate regional agency to deliver a cost-effective funding model to support regional marketing, and the proposed defunding of Hawke’s Bay Tourism will be felt by all,” she said.

“Our hugely successful marketing campaigns are reliant on Hawke’s Bay Tourism, a well-oiled marketing machine that, in addition to supporting the festival, facilitates our attendance to trade shows where we can connect with agents.”

Former Napier mayor and Art Deco Trust chairwoman Barbara Arnott. Photo / Paul Taylor

Arnott believed most in the tourism sector would “feel the pinch” that would be available if Hawke’s Bay Tourism remained funded.

“Defunding Hawke’s Bay Tourism will have cascading repercussions that will impact the festival and tourism and extend beyond the tourist sector, affecting businesses across the region.

“The impact of tourism in Hawke’s Bay resonates deeply, benefiting not only the 10 per cent of Hawke’s Bay workers directly employed in tourism but also the 80 per cent of tourism spending that permeates the wider economy.”

Arnott said 20 per cent of all visitor expenditure in the region directly benefits the tourism industry, while 80 per cent circulates within the wider community.

“Our hugely popular festival and the wider tourism ecosystem didn’t happen by accident. It is the product of a well-oiled marketing machine, built and tuned over the years to deliver staggering results, as this recent report proves.”