Visitors catch on to Rodney

Mahurangi, near Warkworth, is a popular tourist destination. Photo / Supplied

Tourism is booming in Rodney district - on the back of its beaches, vineyards and food, a growing choice of visitor accommodation and a faster drive from urban Auckland.

A star drawcard for Rodney's visitor industry - now worth $110 million a year - is the former sleepy holiday backwater of the northeast coast.

For years, Warkworth's rural hinterland struggled to divert tourists on their trip north to the Bay of Islands.

Now its high up the must-stop list - centred round Matakana village, which is in a valley of vineyards where every side road seems to lead to a sandy beach.

"People have found this coast has an enormous amount to offer," said Dave Parker, who founded the Warkworth "i-site" information centre in 1992. "Locals said back then 'we don't want to promote the area - we don't want people coming here'.

"But I thought more and more visitors would come in, seeking an experience outside the cities and they have, from all over the world.

"The Warkworth i-site is one of the busiest in the country, serving 55,000 visitors a year," said Mr Parker.

Four northeast coast attractions are now listed in Tourism Auckland's Top 50. They are Pakiri beach horse rides, Goat Island Marine Reserve, Kawau Island and Matakana Village.

Also popular are the Mahurangi Harbour and Tawharanui Regional Park.

"Tourism there is at a relatively juvenile stage of development and that's turned out to be an advantage," said Tourism Auckland chief executive Graeme Osborne.

"It's not over-commercialised; it's a slow living proposition and that's what people are looking for to take the heat out of their lifestyles."

Mr Parker said the attractions had played a big role in persuading people to spend a night or two in the district, although most were an hour's drive from urban Auckland.

The latest addition to the district's offering of coastal and rural retreats, Pakiri Point Lodge, has opened for up to 10 guests a night from $550 to $650.

Rodney Mayor Penny Webster said the new venture was in a "stunning location" and would show off Rodney as a tourist destination.

Her council is contributing $130,000 this year to visitor information centres.

The Berl economic consultancy reports that despite the recession in 2008, Rodney's tourism enjoyed another excellent year in three performance indicators - employment, value added or GDP and growth of business units.