Bumper weekend! Long weekend a boon for Whanganui's economy

Whanganui Vintage weekend activities were just some the events which brought people to town this weekend. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Anniversary weekend has proven a boon for Whanganui's economy with accommodation and hospitality outlets reporting bumper trade.

The city hosted a range of cultural and sporting events over Wellington Anniversary Weekend, including the Cooks Classic and the Billy Webb race to the annual Vintage Weekend activities, Caboodle, the closing night of the New Zealand Opera School and performances from Jon Toogood and The Upbeats.

The festivities brought locals together but also drew crowds from all over the country.

Whanganui and Partners chief executive, Mark Ward said he always expects a vast increase in visitors, traffic numbers and hotel bookings.

"We are looking at what the best methods are to measure those numbers so we can look at what the return is to the region in terms of investment, consumer spending, the marketing in these events and getting in behind funding these events," he said.

For Marie Bonner it was her first year as owner of Aotea Motor Lodge.

"We were saying how great it is Whanganui puts things on far more then other little towns," she said.

"Since Christmas, we've been full every weekend."

The lodge had a couple of vacancies this time last year but this year they were fully booked.

"It's not only those from Wellington, so many that arrived on Thursday from Auckland and definitely a lot of people are coming through."

Whanganui was awash with colour as people dressed for the occasion. Photo / Lewis Gardner

The same was felt at B-K's Magnolia Motor Lodge, with manager Debbie Eveleigh feeling the heat from the busy period.

"You get full and there's people still looking for rooms but you can't do much about that," she said.

"This weekend started off with the opera and overlapped with the vintage, it's pretty much all or nothing for Whanganui it's not so much spread out."

Tavin Small manager of the Rutland Arms said their trading went well all weekend and they showcased Whanganui well with all the different events going on.

"It's a great weekend for the town, there is a lot of people coming into town for it now, its a fantastic time for the whole community to come out and enjoy."

The Cooks Classic was held on Saturday night. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Whanganui and Partners' strategic lead for brand and events, Jonathan Sykes, said with the Vintage Weekend comprising of so many elements they were not only seeing more out-of-town visitors but it is a great event to keep the locals in town.

"It's also the way it presents the Whanganui brand as well, there's something for everyone," he said.

Whanganui and Partners and the organisers behind the Vintage Weekend were wanting the event to become nationally recognised.

"Certainly the feeling is it's on the way towards that, it's still a regional event but it's on that journey and the wide range events and identity its developed is helping it get there, that's certainly our ambition for it is that it grows further.

He was expecting March to be another big month full of events that will again bring a lot of out of town visitors to Whanganui.