Hundreds of thousands of people travelled to the Thames-Coromandel area over the peak holiday period and while this should be positive, there are concerns retail spending figures hadn’t kept up with inflation and pressure on local infrastructure surged.

Thames-Coromandel District Council questioned the figures last week, following a report submitted by the council’s district emergency and crisis manager Garry Towler.

While $96 million had been spent in the district during the December/January period, $8m more than the previous year, district councillor John Grant said those figures were similar to the 2019/20 year.

There had been a reasonable amount of inflation in the following years to 2023/24, he said, and it was a “little concerning to see those numbers”.

“We haven’t really seen any increase in spend.”

Councillors were told people were spending less on eating out and instead buying at supermarkets and doing a lot more activities at home.

Thames-Coromandel District Council Mayor Len Salt said the council was concerned that while visitor numbers were up, the economic spend was down.

Salt said the district had a responsibility to support the community and if the spending trend continued to go down, it would be cause for concern “for all of us”.

Councillor Peter Revell added that the forestry and aquaculture industries were also affected, not only tourism.

Towler’s report outlined key statistics after staff had undertaken a peak summer season preparation and debrief project since 2018.

In September of each year, staff identified potential risks and issues and developed mitigations while contingency plans, emergency plans and processes were reviewed.

This project culminated in a report in December each year, confirming the level of confidence the council had to manage the peak influx period.

Hotwater Beach in the Coromandel is a popular summer destination. Photo / Mike Scott

The most recent peak period was identified as December 25, 2023 to January 5, 2024 as those 12 days represented the “busiest time of the year”.

During that period, it was estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 people visited the Coromandel.

It was considered an average figure, compared to pre-Covid summers.

The report showed the majority of visitors stayed across the eastern seaboard, between Whangamatā and Matarangi.

Towler said events and markets across the district were well supported. Two concerts, one each in Whitianga and Whangamatā, attracted between 3,500 and 4,000 people.

Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Len Salt.

Coastguard data released showed 6,000 trips were logged by boaties over the peak period, resulting in 43 callouts for assistance.

Overall, spending by visitors was on average 20 per cent up on last year’s figures.

“Although a positive result, it is important to note that at the same time last year, the Coromandel was severely impacted by storms and two cyclones. Council infrastructure was, as always, put under pressure,” Towler said in the report.

He said that while local roads held up “very well with no major issues reported”, requests for service over the peak period totalled 943.

The majority of calls related to solid waste complaints, followed by regulatory and water issues.

The majority of calls related to solid waste complaints, followed by regulatory and water issues. Photo / Laura Smith

Around 35 per cent of calls were from the Mercury Bay area while Whangamatā made up 26 per cent of calls, followed by Tairua-Pāuanui with 18 per cent.

Communications reported a 100 per cent increase in social media traffic during the peak period, with 110,000 hits on the council’s Facebook page.

Key messages revolved around solid waste collections, weather warnings and water restrictions.

Maintenance and repair crews were able to respond and stay on top of normal callouts for blocked drains, potholes and damaged or missing signs.

Waste Management experienced its first peak period workload as a council contractor and recently-introduced tags, food scraps and a rubbish bin system caused some confusion and issues across the district.

Towler said in the report that while local roads held up “very well”, requests for service over the peak period totalled 943. Photo / Mike Scott

“Only 132 missed collections were reported during the peak period, an indication that overall, waste management went well.”

The seven refuse and recycling transfer stations across the district received a couple of thousand tonnes of rubbish and recycling materials from Boxing Day until the end of January.

There were another few hundred tonnes of rubbish and recycling materials collected from kerbsides in the same period.

Water demand overall was down on previous years with 312,528 cubic metres consumed, compared to the highest demand recorded in 2021/2022 of 347,073 cubic metres.

Water restrictions were in place between nine and 13 days across the eastern seaboard and Coromandel Town.

This resulted mainly from heavy rainfall turbidity issues that reduced reservoir levels. One boiled water notice for a 24-hour period was in place at Matarangi, again due to turbidity issues.

There were three reported wastewater issues when minor overflows occurred during heavy rain. Overall, for water and wastewater, there were no consent breaches.