Tourism is expected to boom in Opotiki as work begins on the Motu Trails section of the national cycleway.
Running from Opotiki to Gisborne, the project was officially signed off last week.
Opotiki mayor John Forbes said the town had some great events for visitors and already attracted 30,000 or more peopleduring the summer.
"This gives us a chance to showcase what really great hosts we are. We have some beautiful countryside and the trail runs through the hills, along the coast and through some untouched bushland."
Existing events include the Motu Challenge multisport race, the annual Opotiki Charity Concert for country music fans, the Fibre & Fleece competition and the Muriwai inter-marae sports tournament. Mr Forbes said fishing was also popular with visitors looking for tuna and marlin. "We are strong in the domestic visitor market, but we are a bit off the beaten track for international visitors."
The cycleway is expected to put Opotiki on the map and he said things would happen "fairly quickly" once the background work was done.
