Tourism in the Waikato region

New Zealanders and overseas visitors value the Waikato region’s many scenic natural attractions. Tourism is a key industry for New Zealand. We need to manage the demands that increasing numbers of tourists and holidaymakers put on our environment.

The tourism industry markets New Zealand’s scenic beauty internationally. Many New Zealanders have a strong relationship with the outdoors and over half of adult New Zealanders use beaches, rivers and lakes for leisure.

High profile tourist and recreation attractions are based around the natural resources of:

• Waitomo Caves
  
• Geothermal activity around Rotorua
  
• Coromandel Peninsula
  
• Lake Taupo
  
• Tongariro National Park.
  

Tour operators, holidaymakers and day–trippers use the Waikato’s nationally recognised tourist routes (State Highway 1, State Highway 3 and the Pacific Coast Highway).

Tourism demands

High tourist numbers may affect the Waikato region’s environment. Increasing numbers may result in:

• damage to fragile natural environments
  
• development that may affect our environment
  
• strain on infrastructure, such as waste treatment services and roads.

Most of the 2.43 million visits each year to the Coromandel Peninsula are by New Zealanders (85 per cent). Total visitor numbers are forecast to increase by 10.6 per cent to 2013, with a growing proportion of international visitors (increasing by 26.7 per cent over the period)¹. The Thames-Coromandel District's usual population of 25,938² grows by six times as much over the Christmas Day to New Year’s Day period, when bach owners, their friends and families, campers and holiday makers arrive³. This large population increase strains roads and waste services. Find out more about the pressures on our coasts from visitors and development.

Taupo also has seasonal increases in visitors. Around 2.2 million visits were made to Taupo in 2006. Most of these are New Zealanders (79 per cent). These numbers are expected to grow to 2.45 million visitors in 2013 - an increase of 10.3% on current levels⁴. Find out about what you can do to help keep Lake Taupo clean.

Key facts:

• For the year to March 2005, international tourism contributed $8.1 billion (or 18.7 per cent) to total New Zealand exports, making it New Zealand's second largest earner of foreign exchange after dairy products⁵.
• International travel trends show a growing interest in the quality of the environment and a growing demand for different cultural experiences.
• Of the two million international visitors to New Zealand in 2006, 28 per cent (668,400) visited the Waikato region⁶.
• The Waikato region is New Zealand's second largest destination for domestic travel, especially for holiday makers.⁷
• Domestic and international visitors spent a total of 1.1 million guest nights in commercial establishments in the Waikato region during the year to June 2007.

Footnotes

1. Tourism Research Council New Zealand. 2003: New Zealand Regional Tourism Forecasts, 2003-2009 Waikato Region. Wellington.
2. Statistics New Zealand. 2001: 2001 Census of Population and Dwellings. Wellington.
3. Thames Coromandel District Council. 1994: Mercury Bay Strategic Planning Retreat and Council Tour 5-6 May 2004. Thames Coromandel District Council, Thames.
4. Tourism Research Council New Zealand. 2003: New Zealand Regional Tourism Forecasts, 2003-2009 Waikato Region. Wellington.
5. Ministry of Economic Development. 2006: Tourism Satellite account 2002-2005. www.tourismresearch.govt.nz 16 October 2007.
6. Ministry of Economic Development. 2006. Current Total Arrivals by Purpose of Visit Year End. www.tourismresearch.govt.nz 16 October 2007
7. Ministry of Economic Development. 2006. Regional Data - Waikato Region. www.tourismresearch.govt.nz 16 October 2007.