New Plymouth District Council’s Summer at the Bowl concert series has hit all the right notes for the local economy.
The series, which ran from December 2023 to March 2024, included December’s Rock the Bowl festival with performances from Ocean Alley, Shapeshifter and Katchafire, the January Dire Straights Legacy concert and Matchbox Twenty in March.
According to a report from Business and Economic Research Ltd (BERL), the series generated $8.1 million in total expenditure and injected $4.2m into the local economy.
The report said more than half of the visitors travelled from outside the region, spending a combined total of 19,672 nights in Taranaki, with the cash injection coming from money spent on accommodation, transport, food and shopping during their stay.