Te Tāpoi | Tourism

Te Tāpoi: Te whakanui i ngā kōrero o Kāpiti
Tourism: Amplifying the story of Kāpiti

We know Kāpiti is a special place, and there’s opportunity to share more of what our tourism sector is doing. There is potential to grow our economy and provide a wider range of diverse jobs right here at home.

As we look to grow this sector, we need to do so in a way that benefits the local economy, the local community and the natural environment.

Current state

Council uses a variety of marketing tools and assets to tell the story of our beautiful natural environment, unique vibe and personality, cultural history, and authentic character and down-to-earth lifestyle.

The latest figures show an 8% increase in visitor spending of $115m to March 2023, which is the highest it has been for a long time.

Tourism expenditure in Kapiti is now 19% above its pre-pandemic (June 2019 quarter) level and the district has increased its share of Wellington Region’s tourism expenditure from 8.4% in the June 2019 quarter, to 8.7% in the June 2023 quarter.

Our market research tells us that visitors value the following aspects of our tourism the most:

• visiting friends and family
• nature
• beaches, and scenery
• dining out.

Most of our visitors are drive-time visitors (for example, from Wellington and Manawatu-Whanganui). But that might be because we currently have limited spaces for people to stay overnight in the district.

Recently, the Women’s FIFA World Cup brought more international tourists to our district. In June we saw a more than 40% increase of overseas visitors.

Have your say has concluded for this topic

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• Mō ngā mahi tāpoi i te rohe - he aha atu anō he mahi e taea ana?
  In terms of tourism in the district – what more can be done?