Labour Weekend: Crowds of 20,000 expected in Tauranga for art, food and cultural festivals

Vegan Vibes food festival is expecting to see a crowd of 2000 tasting the plant-based cuisine this weekend. Photo / Tauranga City Council

The Bay is expected to be booming this Labour Weekend, with Tauranga Arts Festival crowds of up to 20,000 people bringing “joyful noise” to the city.

A city official says Tauranga will be “abuzz with visitors” with a range of events including a vegan food festival, slam poetry, an interactive space adventure, an iwi festival and a basketball competition.

Airbnbs are up to nearly 70 per cent occupation in the region and the Vegan Vibes food festival is expecting to see a crowd of 2000.

The Classic basketball tournament is one of the largest in Australasia featuring teams and players from New Zealand and overseas.

Tauranga Moana Tauranga Tangata Festival is expecting 950 people affiliated with Tauranga iwi at Matakana Island to spend the long weekend celebrating their unique identities.

Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said tourists were “integral to the success of hospitality businesses, particularly in our tourist hotspots”.

Bidois said the association had “seen reports of some strong forward bookings over the summer period for tourists” and many owners in the industry were hopeful it would be a strong trading period.

Vegan Vibes food festival is expecting to see a crowd of 2000 tasting the plant-based cuisine this weekend. Photo / Tauranga City Council

Tauranga Arts Festival artistic director Shane Bosher said the festival would bring “joyful noise” to the community.

“It’s what we need right now,” he said.

The festival includes interactive space adventures to Mars for all ages, a hip-hop street dance battle and a community singalong at Edgewater Fan with headlining singer Ria Hall.

Jason Te Mete will also be curating the singalong to a piece named Waiata Mai.

“This festival is all about connection, how we move forward [and] how we live together,” Bosher told the Bay of Plenty Times.

He said it offered an opportunity for people to “test out the city” on the festival-style “pick-a-path adventure”.

The Tauranga Arts Festival runs from October until 29.

Tourism Bay of Plenty head of strategy and insights Richard Faire said Labour Weekend traditionally marked the start of the visitor season in the coastal Bay of Plenty.

“We know local businesses will be looking forward to the extra patronage and this long weekend should also put everyone in a good mood as the weather’s warming up,” he said.

The Classic basketball tournament is one of the largest in Australasia featuring teams and players from New Zealand and internationally. Photo / Tauranga City Council

Faire said accommodation demands including forward bookings were “relatively strong” and believed peer-to-peer accommodation services such as Airbnb were “up to nearly 70 per cent” full.

“The signs are extremely positive.”

He said events in the region offered a “fantastic incentive” for visitors to travel and provided a “significant economic boost”.

Faire said this had “positive flow-on effects for accommodation, hospitality, retail and tourism operators”.

He said there were many opportunities to find great spots to eat, activities and to explore the city’s natural and historical sites.

Tauranga City Council venue and events manager Nelita Byrne said: “This Labour Weekend, Tauranga comes alive with a fusion of sports, culture, and delicious food, marking the unofficial start of summer.”

She said the city centre was “abuzz with visitors” which added vitality and boosted the local economy.

The region was the “ultimate summer destination”, she said, and the events this weekend made it an ideal choice of location to visit.

“We’re thrilled to host these fantastic events and we’re dedicated to making Tauranga the go-to destination for unforgettable experiences.”

Tauranga City Council venue and events manager Nelita Byrne. Photo / Tauranga City Council

One motel in the city confirmed to the Bay of Plenty Times it was fully booked for the weekend.

Bed and Breakfast Association New Zealand president Ann-Marie Johnson said the international tourist season was under way and was “looking pretty good”.

Michaela Pointon is an NZME reporter based in the Bay of Plenty and was formerly a feature writer.