Secret Spot co-owner Keith Kolver. Photo / Andrew Warner
Secret Spot co-owner Keith Kolver. Photo / Andrew Warner
''Heartwarming'' and ''encouraging'' are how some Bay businesses have described the Easter weekend, while one says they ''knocked it out of the park" as visitors flocked to the region.
Hospitality owners spoken to by NZME also reported booked-out accommodation and growing confidence moving forward.
Secret Spot Hot Tubs Rotorua co-ownerKeith Kolver said it was the best Easter ever and they ''knocked it out of the park".
Deepak Kundal, who owns The Beer Garden and CBK Rotorua, said the weekend had been "massive" for his businesses.
"They [customers] are more confident now to be out."
He said the shift to the orange light had been a welcome change for his business. Particularly, the new rules allowed dancing in bars, which had "made a big difference".
Hospitality NZ accommodation sector Bay of Plenty chairman and 850 Cameron Motel owner Tony Bullot said "Tauranga was full" over the long weekend.
Bookings tended to be more last-minute these days due to Covid-19 uncertainties but there had still been a good number of people in the area, he said.
"People are getting out and about - and they are certainly less fearful of Covid than they were."
He said the long weekend had reinforced the industry's confidence going forward.
"People have shown themselves to be pretty resilient...'' and had travelled.
He said the numbers for Anzac weekend were hard to predict due to late bookings.
However, there was "no reason not to believe it will be busy".
Hospitality NZ accommodation sector Bay of Plenty chairman and 850 Cameron Road Motel owner Tony Bullot. Photo / George Novak
Tristan Webb, co-owner of and instructor at Skydive Tauranga, said Sunday and Monday's poor weather had stymied what was a well-booked weekend.
"We had a decent Friday/Saturday...we did have decent bookings for Sunday and Easter Monday but obviously given the weather, we weren't able to do those.
"But it was encouraging to see we still had decent demand coming through."
He said the business "didn't do anything" over the last two Easters, with Covid-19 disruptions getting in the way.
"If we compare it [this Easter] to pre-Covid, it was about on par, which is good...we are seeing sort of back-to-normal numbers for what we anticipate on weekends."
Hospitality New Zealand's chief executive officer Julie White said the business owners she had spoken to were reporting a "great" weekend.
"We've definitely seen an increase on previous weeks."
Hospitality New Zealand CEO Julie White. Photo / supplied
She said the cancellation of the Jazz Festival had led to a lower level of trading than previous Easters, but the orange light setting made the future look "promising".
She said seeing good numbers over the weekend was "heartwarming, and so very welcome".
"Orange has definitely made a difference...there seems to be a greater sense of consumer confidence.
"It's really been hard the last two years not to be optimistic, but we think the future is bright."
The weekend's events included the finale of the 2021/2022 Baypark Speedway season, which was also its 20th anniversary celebration.
Baypark Speedway manager Melissa Webb said it was "a really good night of racing".
"It's been a really tough season with all the changes with Covid...it was awesome to see out the season with such a great night."
She said having special event nights on long weekends meant people were visiting the Bay on holiday, so the crowd was increased.
"We had the best crowd we've had all year...it was what I'd call our most successful night.
"It was a great way to send off a really hard season."
Friends of the Rotorua Library held a free book giveaway event in Kuirau Park on Saturday.
Secretary Patricia Moore said the day was "very successful".
"We had a very big crowd of people there...people took away a lot of books."
Patricia Moore, secretary of the Rotorua Friends of the Library. Photo / Andrew Warner
She said donations from the public had facilitated the giveaway.
"During the lockdown, we received so many donations, we had to do something."
She said they gave away "a big number of boxes" of books.
"It gives people the opportunity to read books that perhaps they wouldn't be able to buy...it extends people's interests in other subjects."
Papamoa Unlimited hosted an Alice in Wonderland Easter hunt along the Papamoa stormwater reserve.
Papamoa Unlimited's event and marketing manager Julia Manktelow at their Alice in Wonderland easter hunt. Photo / supplied
The event was attended by 849 people, their biggest crowd in seven years, competing to find cutouts of Alice in Wonderland characters and win one of four Avanti bikes.
Papamoa Unlimited's event and marketing manager Julia Manktelow said "the best part [of the event] was seeing kids feel free to be kids again.
"They've all been so good through all the restrictions - it was a pleasure to see everyone looking out for one another and enjoying each other people's smiles."
