Visitors flock to Rotorua for events

Ron Hunter

A rare combination of Easter, Anzac Day and the Rotorua marathon falling on successive weekends has provided "business all over town" for the local visitor industry.

'No vacancy' signs have been a constant as accommodation providers reaped the rewards from the profitable trifecta.

Now this weekend will bring another influx as visitors arrive for a masters badminton tournament, Te Arawa kapa haka contest and the annual Rotorua Cup race meeting.

It's not only sports and cultural events attracting out-of-towners - maintenance shutdowns at nearby timber mills have filled beds with sub-contractors employed in the annual upgrades.

Rotorua Association of Moteliers chairman Ron Hunter said the mood was optimistic in the accommodation sector.

"The general mood this year has been that it has been pretty good for the industry," he said.

"We've had three good weekends in a row."

Mr Hunter said while it was unusual to have Easter and Anzac Day over successive weekends, the influx of visitors to Rotorua for those holiday breaks was not.

"It is nothing extraordinary, it is what it should be.

"We've been pretty damn busy on top of a good summer."

A unique "co-op-petition" arrangement between moteliers had meant few had missed out on the visitor increase.

"We circulate a spreadsheet to our members notifying them of motels which have vacancies.

"That way if any of us are full we can send visitors on to someone who has room."

Rotorua motels had been near 100 per cent full on each of the past three weekends, he said.

Mr Hunter said the optimism by the industry shown around Christmas had been tempered.

"The economic rise has been very, very slight - the general mood is that we have levelled out in the past months."

Hennessy's Irish Bar manager Hilary Hennessy said the restaurant had been fully booked a week prior to the marathon, and was forced to turn 30 diners away.

"It's been a good summer all round - it's been non-stop, we are 20 per cent up from last year."

Rotorua District Council economic growth strategy leader and deputy mayor Dave Donaldson said Rotorua's reputation as a major events destination continued to grow nationally and internationally.

"For a community of our size we're very fortunate to have the scale of visitor infrastructure - accommodation, attractions, retail, hospitality - that allows us to successfully host large and multiple events like we've been able to do over the past few weeks and like we're doing again this weekend," he said.

Mr Donaldson said Rotorua had to stick to its strengths to keep ahead of the pack.

"Sustainable growth of major events is crucially important to Rotorua in terms of economic impact and other benefits they bring to our community.

"This is why attracting and developing events is a core focus of our Rotorua 2030 vision and goals, specifically in terms of celebrating our outstanding places to play and growing business enterprise.

The Rotorua Tourism Committee-initiated "Famously Rotorua" funding partnership had the real potential to attract more major events, he said.