Whanganui dominating domestic tourism growth trends

Whanganui had the largest visitor spend growth in April, May and June of this year. Photo / Bevan Conley

Regional Tourism NZ chair David Perks will speak in Whanganui next month on the back of the strong domestic tourism growth for the past four months.

Whanganui topped the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s visitor spend growth table in April, May, June, and ranked second in July.

Autumn and winter are usually comparatively quiet periods for visitors but Whanganui recorded growth ahead of 30 other regions.

Whanganui & Partners’ chief executive Jonathan Sykes said the boost in visitor numbers and the momentum Whanganui was maintaining demonstrated how much visitors enjoyed the region.

“The experience people have while they’re here makes them more likely to return, speak highly of Whanganui to friends and family, and sometimes even consider moving to work or do business here.”

Whanganui & Partners aimed to raise Whanganui’s profile as a place to visit, study, do business and live.

“We put Whanganui on billboards, TV screens, in magazines, social media and newspapers and we saw the result of those efforts as we tracked significant increases in traffic to our website and online platforms.”

A public forum is being held where Perks will give an expert view of what’s driving Whanganui’s growth trend.

“Along with our visitor success, we have a lot of stories to share about businesses we’ve helped to establish, diversify and grow,” Sykes said.

• The Whanganui & Partners’ public forum is on November 2, beginning at 5.30pm, at Space Studio & Gallery on St Hill St. All are welcome. RSVP at discoverwhanganui.nz/forum.