Mall proves to be drawcard for foot traffic

Tutanekai St, especially the Rotorua Central end, is one of the busiest spots for pedestrians. Photo / File

Rotorua Central and the mall end of Tutanekai St are the top spots for foot traffic - and real estate agents hope news that more people are on the streets will help lure more businesses into the central city.

The Property Institute of New Zealand's Rotorua branch last week released details of an annual survey it carries out to look at where in the city has the highest pedestrian counts, with Rotorua Central again claiming the top two spots.

In third spot was the area outside Pumpkin Patch on Tutanekai St, followed by AMI and the former Life Pharmacy building.

The count, carried out in October, saw an 8 per cent increase in pedestrians along Tutanekai St, a 21 per cent increase in foot traffic at Rotorua Central Mall and an average increase of 5.1 per cent for the wider central business district.

Mark Rendell from Bayleys Rotorua said he hoped the recent pedestrian counts would help attract a tenant for the Tutanekai St building left vacant when Stirling Sports moved across the road.

He said pedestrian counts were one of the factors businesses considered, but not the only one.

Businesses relocating to Rotorua often wanted to go to Rotorua Central, but with the complex now full he said businesses saw the mall end of Tutanekai St as "the next best thing".

Addiction Surf and Skate was an example of one of those businesses, he said.

They have established in the area of Tutanekai St which has one of the top five pedestrian counts.

Mr Rendell said the area around Tutanekai St and Eruera St towards Amohia St was an area people tended to go "to spend money".

While Tutanekai St was sought after, businesses also liked Eruera St and Pukuatua St as locations, he said.

Harcourts agent Paul Sanford said the pedestrian count figures were further good news for the city, which seemed to have a positive buzz about it.

National tenants - like larger chains - generally took pedestrian counts into account more when selecting a location, he said.

Other factors included rent and the size of space available, he said.

Mr Sanford said it was another step toward attracting businesses to town.

"You can't say that is the difference but it is one of many things that help."

Property Institute of New Zealand Rotorua/Taupo branch chairperson Helen Brumby said the results weren't a huge surprise, as the mall had dominated the counts since 2001.

What was a surprise, she said, was the increase in foot traffic in the mall - jumping by more than 200 people since the previous count.

She said it was difficult to say exactly why the mall had seen such a jump, as the count wasn't done during school holidays.

Full copies of the report - which covered 37 sites across the central city - are available for purchase from the Rotorua branch.