Fewer cyclists on the Mountains to Sea trail and a last minute event cancellation may be partly responsible for a drop in tourism spending in Whanganui in March.
The latest monthly regional tourism estimates released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) show the majority of regions had large increases in monthly tourism spend for March 2018, with Whanganui one of the exceptions with a decrease of 1 per cent to $12 million.
Whanganui & Partners destination marketing strategic lead Paul Chaplow said there were a similar number of events on in Whanganui during March compared with previous years.
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"Unfortunately, the Snell Challenge was cancelled at fairly late notice and some accommodation providers were impacted by this," Chaplow said.