Busy months for Whanganui as events fill accommodation

Vintage Weekend is just one of many events bringing an influx of visitors to Whanganui. Photo / NZME

Whanganui’s accommodation providers are preparing for a busy few months as the district hosts a range of cultural and sporting events.

However, the future of Whanganui’s tourism industry may hinge on necessary changes, according to Paul Chaplow, Whanganui and Partners visitor industries strategic lead.

Whanganui has 25 active accommodation establishments recognised by economic development agency Whanganui and Partners and the Ministry of Innovation and Employment.

They include Kings Court Motel on Plymouth St, with owner Paul Evans reporting a “surprisingly” busy end to 2024.

“November and December were busier than we thought they were going to be,” Evans said.

“It looked like it was going to be very quiet but what we’re seeing is that people are booking a lot later than they used to.”

Chaplow said he thought the increase in last-minute bookings was because of Covid, with lingering anxiety over cancellations.

But this caused issues when it came to busy periods: “For all of our major events we are jammed”, Chaplow said.

The newly-renovated Marton Motel was also in high demand, with new manager Michelle Bratty saying the accommodation was booked out every weekend until March.

The newly-renovated Marton Motel is almost fully booked until March 2025.

With the Marton Country Music Festival this weekend, Bratty said she could have booked out the rooms “three times over”.

She was excited to have the festival headliners, The Topp Twins, staying at the motel for the weekend.

“It’s been going really good and I’d love to keep it going that way,” she said.

Evans has also had to turn people away as crowds flock to Whanganui for Vintage Weekend and the NZ Masters Games.

Chaplow said there was “virtually nothing available” this weekend.

Demand was likely to continue for Whanganui’s next few months of events, with accommodation booking fast for Hoop Nation, Artists Open Studios and the Masters Games.

The Sarjeant Gallery, Unesco City of Design status and new events were bringing more visitors to Whanganui as industries recognised the opportunities of Whanganui as a tourist destination, Chaplow said.

Evans said rather than just passing through, “we do find people are coming to Whanganui for Whanganui”.

The increase in people exploring the district included international visitors, with both Kings Court Motel and Marton Motel accommodating multiple groups of international visitors in the past few months.

According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, 25% of visitors using Whanganui’s accommodation services in November 2024 were international.

However, Chaplow was concerned a plateau was near because of a lack of accommodation restricting Whanganui’s capacity for large events.

“I think we’ve all been calling out for another hotel,” he said.

“I see not having that as holding us back.”

Whanganui and Partners hoped to facilitate large events and conferences in the future, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure with many facilities near each other and the city centre.

This included the War Memorial Centre, Sarjeant Gallery and Royal Whanganui Opera House.

“I think generally our accommodation providers, given the context of the economic recession, are doing pretty well, and have done all through since Covid,” Chaplow said.

“On the business side of events, I’d love to do more but I’d want to know that we’d have a hotel development in time.”

Whanganui District Council has been considering the need for a new hotel since 2022 after Vintage Weekend attendees were forced to stay in Palmerston North because of accommodation shortages.

However, a proposal for the council to build a $55 million, four-star, 60-room hotel and multi-storey carpark was scrapped during its 10-year plan process last year.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.