Paraparaumu couple Jake and Oy Trewhitt with son Hugo 2, enjoy a first visit to Whanganui this week. Photo / Liz Wylie
Paraparaumu couple Jake and Oy Trewhitt with son Hugo 2, enjoy a first visit to Whanganui this week. Photo / Liz Wylie
Whanganui businesses are reporting a bumper holiday period.
Customers were filling the cafe tables along Victoria Ave on Monday - the final day of the official holiday period.
Rutland Arms Inn manager Tavis Small said things have been "flat out" in the bar, restaurant and guest accommodation.
"We aredefinitely busier than we would normally be at this time of year," he said.
"From talking to the customers I gather that they are coming from all parts of New Zealand. Mostly, they haven't visited Whanganui before and they are wanting to experience somewhere new and see what we have to offer."
Three of those domestic travellers were Kāpiti Coast couple Jake and Oy Trewhitt who were enjoying a first visit to Whanganui with their 2-year-old son Hugo on Monday.
"We have been staying in Taupō and decided to make a point of stopping in Whanganui before heading home," Jake said.
The family were enjoying the view from Durie Hill after visiting Kowhai Park.
Big-ticket items are also selling well in the post-Christmas phase and Furniture One owner Fenton Pettigrew said it has been his busiest year for a while.
"We have been here for 30 years and we always have our regulars who like to buy something new at Christmas but this year we've got a lot of new customers who have recently moved here," he said.
"People have bought new houses and they are waiting on carpet layers and so forth so there has been a fair bit of co-ordination involved. It's great but it's tiring."
Footloose Shoes owner Laureen Tunnell said she had been welcoming a lot of out-of-town customers to her Victoria Ave shop.
"Normally I would be visiting family in Melbourne or they would be here at this time of year," she said.
"I've actually quite enjoyed being in the shop and meeting customers from different parts of the country."
New Zealand Glassworks has also been welcoming plenty of visitors during the holidays.
"It certainly feels busier than this time last year," gallery assistant Jaki Wilkins said.
Pharmacy 145 on Victoria owner Evan Lee has been opening for reduced hours on the statutory holidays and said it had been busy.
"People have been coming in for supplies like Band-aids, shoe insoles, insect repellent - those sorts of things," he said.
"We have also been selling a lot of remedies for coughs and sneezes caused by seasonal allergies and there are some people wanting pain relief after overdoing things while on holiday."
Lee purchased the business from previous long-term owners Bryce and Judith Esquilant in early December 2019 and said the Christmas period has been far busier this year.
"There are definitely a lot more people about this year," he said.
Whanganui businesses are welcoming plenty of out-of-town visitors during the first days of 2021.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Air Chathams is one business not benefitting from the domestic tourism market and chief operating officer Duane Emeny said the company expected a quiet time after Christmas.
"What would normally be keeping us busy now is the connections to international flights in and out of Auckland," he said.
"Most local customers have reached their holiday destinations and they are not coming back just yet. We are hopeful that a transtasman bubble will open soon."
In the meantime, Emeny said there are flights available for Whanganui people wishing to travel to Auckland and the company is looking forward to bringing its DC-3 classic plane to Whanganui for Bayleys Whanganui Vintage Weekend on January 22.
