Taupō tourism shines in dire summer

Taupō’s visitor accommodation occupancy rates are the best in the country and the operators of Huka Falls Jet have had their best summer since 2008 as the district bounces back from a disastrous few years for the tourism industry.

Visitor accommodation occupancy rates for December, supplied by the of Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), reveal Taupō’s accommodation providers were at 67.6% of capacity – the best in the country – with Queenstown at 67.5%, and well ahead of traditional summer tourism hotspots such as Rotorua (57.2%) and the Coromandel (50.2%).

Love Taupō general manager Jane Wilson said those figures were even better for motels and hotels which were at 78% of capacity for December 2022.

“Overall, the summer season has been positive for our operators,” she said.

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”In terms of visitor spend, domestic revenue was up 32% for the year ending December 2022 compared to December 2019 – offsetting much of the loss in international spend as a result of closed borders.

“International arrivals are coming back more quickly than initially anticipated with December 2022 international spend down just 19% on Dec 2019.”

Lake Taupō Hole In One Challenge and Chris Jolly Outdoors director Hayden Porter said more than 4000 people had visited the attraction on the shores of Lake Taupō in December, about 10% more than the year before.

Both businesses are owned and operated by Taupō Moana Group Holdings, the commercial arm of the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board.

”After the re-introduction of international visitors we have seen about a 50% increase in our revenue year-on-year over the same period with more than 95% of our customers from out of town,” Porter said.

“About 50% are internationals and 50% Kiwis – opposed to 100% Kiwis over the last couple of summers.

“We are seeing similar growth year-on-year at Chris Jolly Outdoors also and have a very positive outlook there too.”

Porter said almost 125,000 balls were hit in December with one player taking home $10,000 in prize money and more staff hired to cover the busy Christmas period.

“We cross train a number of staff at our other business, Chris Jolly Outdoors, and are committed to growing the local pool of talented people and growing the employment opportunities in Taupō.”

Porter said the outlook was positive, and they were soon to introduce a new product in the form of a locally-built air-powered golf ball cannon for kids and people who haven’t swung a club before.

“We plan to make this iconic attraction even more iconic … and have confidence in further investment,” Porter said.

“We are currently working with some Taupō-based building firms and council to move our redevelopment of the site forward after receiving strong support for this improvement to our waterfront area and creating a better public amenity.”

Huka Falls Jet business manager Simon Thew said the numbers of customers visiting the Ngāi Tahu Tourism-owned attraction had “exceeded all expectations”.

“We have had a very positive and busy summer period so far, especially given the poor weather and lingering Covid-19 disruption,” Thew said.

“New Zealanders have been incredible in supporting us and finding out that there are world-class experiences in their own backyard.

“We have also seen a major shift in the international market returning, and our numbers for the summer season have exceeded all our expectations.”

Thew said January was their best month since 2008.

“We are taking a cautious yet positive view that numbers will continue to grow and that Taupō and New Zealand are poised to be a ‘must do’ again for the international traveller.”