Motorhome park opens doors

New Zealand Motor Caravan Association Rotorua area chairman Brian Stanley speaks at the opening of the Ngongotaha site. Photo / Stephen Parker

Businesses are set to get a boost following the opening of a new facility aimed at catering for "a city on wheels".

The New Zealand Motor Caravan Association officially opened its Ngongotaha Park this weekend and the organisation's Rotorua area chairman Brian Stanley said businesses in the Ngongotaha community were already noticing increased business from those using the park.

The park was open to the the association's 52,000 members - "a city on wheels" - and provided them with a safe facility to park up, he said.

Mr Stanley said in the past many of the members would have travelled through Rotorua, staying in parks in neighbouring areas like Taupo or Tauranga.

"Rotorua is a place most people at some point in their life time are going to come to. It's a destination place and a lot of our members are coming to Rotorua."

For the past four years he'd been on the lookout for a property to set up a Rotorua facility, eventually purchasing the 2ha property at Ngongotaha which used to be a saleyards. Mr Stanley said it had been difficult finding land of the size needed that didn't have anything on it, and he was delighted to get the Ngongotaha spot after looking for so long.

It has been operating since just before Christmas with an average of 15 vans a night parked up, and almost 60 on New Year's Eve.

The facility has resource consent for 120 vans.

"It is getting well used."

Mr Stanley said feedback from Ngongotaha businesses was positive already.

"This is a really good area for it to be and it's really doing a lot for the Ngongotaha community. The feedback we are getting is that it's terrific, even down to the hairdresser seeing an increase."

Mr Stanley said the association was seeing a rapidly growing number of people turning to motorhomes, particularly baby-boomers.

"We are getting 400 to 500 new members a month. It's growing rapidly."

He said feedback from other towns with similar park facilities was also positive.