Trust Tairāwhiti economic development general manager Richard Searle said while some commercial providers were not currently catering to tourists, the trust was seeing more baches and other holiday rentals becoming available.
“In particular, there’s increasing demand for boutique options.
“Overall, there’s capacity to welcome more visitors to stay in our region.
“As we expect tourism numbers to grow, the trust is continuing to work with stakeholders to further boost Tairāwhiti’s accommodation offerings. This includes looking at the potential of direct investment, by the trust and by other organisations. We’re also coordinating with local businesses on ideas to manage and deliver sustainable accommodation volumes during major events and other high demand periods.
“The tourism sector is continuing to rebuild following the severe weather events of last year, and it’s been a positive summer.
“The Trust Tairāwhiti Destination Insights Dashboard, which is on our website, tracks visitor data in detail. This shows that, in January 2024 for example, commercial accommodation occupancy rates were 60 percent. That’s 8 percent up on the year before. The occupancy rate of short-term rentals was 69 percent.”
The Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant (EH SNG) is available to people who cannot remain in their usual place of residence, if any, and do not have access to other accommodation which is adequate for them or their family’s needs.
The ministry pays EH SNGs directly to the accommodation supplier and assistance is generally granted for up to seven nights but can be extended dependent on individual circumstances.
MSD confirmed it had not purchased any properties here to accommodate emergency housing needs.
“Emergency housing is one of the biggest public policy failures in New Zealand history and the figures in our region are appalling,” East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick said.
“We have gone from 216 people on the housing register in 2018 to 624 in December 2023. Not withstanding that, whilst some accommodation providers have benefited from much-needed income from the emergency housing, it does nothing for our tourism sector when the holiday parks are full.
“We need to make sure that emergency housing is just that, for the people who need it the most. We need to do a number of things simultaneously to ensure those who need it most are catered for including strengthening the verification process, re-prioritising the list, and providing for more long term housing solutions in our communities.
“This government is committed to ending the large-scale use of emergency housing motels and returning them to a rarely and briefly needed last resort.
“Fundamentally, we need more houses in New Zealand. However, the Government is considering short-term actions that will help, such as making changes to the Residential Tenancy Act to bring back 90-day terminations. We expect this to lead to more opportunity for renters as landlords are more willing to take a chance on potential tenants.
“As the Housing Minister has said, we are taking advice on pet bonds, which would make it easier for tenants to have pets in rental properties.
“The long-term challenge is to deliver more houses.
“Our Going for Housing Growth policy deals with the underlying causes of our housing crisis: uncompetitive urban land markets, infrastructure funding and financing, and a lack of incentives for councils and communities to go for housing growth.
“Our Going for Housing Growth policy will smash urban limits holding our cities back, fix infrastructure funding and financing, and introduce incentives to encourage cities and regions to go for growth.
“There are other levers we’re looking at, such as how we can work more with community housing providers. We’re always going to need social housing, but it doesn’t all need to be owned by Kainga Ora.”
