Effects of prolonged closures

Across Hauraki Coromandel visitor revenue for the past six months was down 10.3% on the same time last year, with many east coast Coromandel business losses significantly greater. Despite increased spend from returning international visitors, Hauraki Coromandel performed near worst at 36 out of 37 RTO areas for revenue growth, while ranking 13 out of 37 in total revenue. This reflects the importance of tourism to our districts and the prolonged negative economic impact of last year's weather damage. Positive spend growth was reported for most other regions (up to +26%).

Recent visitor booking data from Expedia, one of our largest OTAs, tell us that Hauraki Coromandel still lags the New Zealand average for daily accommodation rate ($) and length of stay, and the booking window for domestic visitors in August was down to 24 days.  Short term demand is forecast to remain below that of 2022.

Announcements that the Cathedral Cove walkway (which plays an important part in wider New Zealand tourism) and Fullers Coromandel ferry service will not be in operation this summer raise real concerns that Hauraki Coromandel will lag the recovery of the rest of New Zealand into 2024/25.

Measuring impacts on business

The team at  TCDC are running another business survey to help them advocate for more business recovery support.  It is really important if you are a business owner that you participate (even if you have filled in other surveys). While individual case studies paint a real and concerning picture, it is district-wide data that will get requests for more support over the line.

There are two questions in the survey where you can detail the particular effects of other closures (eg. Cathedral Cove) on your business and town:

13. Describe any other impacts on your business as a result of the weather events experienced at the beginning of the year.

14. Looking forward to the next 6 months, what support will you require to return to an acceptable level of business activity?

We suggest that you detail the impact of specific closures/changes including how forward bookings are tracking compared to last year.

And if you haven't already, please share your insights with Hadley or someone on our team.

Information for visitors

We have had feedback from some businesses (thank you) on our new website which helps us verify the large number of listings and links. The recent Expedia report shows www.thecoromandel.com is the most popular online resource after social media for travellers to Hauraki Coromandel seeking inspiration for their plans, so we recommend you check your listing is up to date.

We continue to follow up with DOC teams on trail and campground closures and timeframes for re-opening. The recent decision to reopen the two end sections of the Coromandel Coastal Walkway either side of the closed slip area at Shag Bay, while alerting visitors to a partial track closure, is great for the region. The timeframe for the full reopening is really helpful for the operators whose businesses are directly constrained.  We have updated our map, as below.
Hauraki-Coromandel-Travel-Times.pdf

The new Hauraki Coromandel app (currently in testing) will have real time updates on the status of roads, tracks and trails and other timely information for visitors and locals.

Nga mihi
Destination Hauraki Coromandel