Events funding pays off for Taupō
Runners enjoy the inaugural Taupō Trail Festival in 2024.
A tourism events fund set up after the Covid-19 pandemic has generated $220 million in direct economic impact for communities in the ‘Thermal Explorer’ regions of Waikato, Rotorua, Taupō and Ruapehu.
The figure is based on an economic impact assessment released by the Thermal Explorer Regional Events Fund Investment Management Panel this month, following the completion of the last of the 48 events the fund supported.
Local events supported by the fund include the Taupō Trail Festival and the Taupō round of Supercars.
Set up in 2020 to stimulate domestic tourism, the $3.75 million events fund provided contestable grants across three separate funding rounds. Supported events catered for a total audience of 532,468 people, including 249,909 visitors from outside the regions the events were hosted in.
“From sports events and major expos to cultural events and music, food and arts festivals, the fund helped support and invigorate the events sector and communities at a time that help was sorely needed,” said Hamilton and Waikato Tourism general manager Nicola Greenwell.
“The impact assessment shows the fund generated an impressive $58 return across the region for every dollar of government funding, with a large portion of that coming from visitor spending on things like accommodation, food and visits to local bars and restaurants.”
Across all funded events in the Thermal Explorer region, the average out-of-region visitor stayed for 1.9 nights and spent an average of $322 per day, in addition to spending generated by local attendees.
Individual grant figures made to the different events have not been made public.
“It’s a real testament to its success that around half of the people who attended the events it funded came from out of the region,” Greenwell said.
Among the funded events was the Taupō Trail Festival.
Organiser Aaron Carter said the funding was key to enabling the family-friendly event to get started during a particularly challenging period.
“Without that funding, we wouldn’t have done the event,” he said.
On its debut in 2024, the Taupō Trail Festival attracted around 2,000 people, with 82 per cent coming from outside the Thermal Explorer Region. It brought around $500,000 in spending to the Taupō region that year, was held again in March 2025, and will return in 2026.
The festival combines multiple trail-based activities into one immersive three-day experience with an emphasis on community and connection.
Other funded events included the ITM Taupō Super400 motorsport event, New Zealand Blues and BBQ Festival in Rotorua and the Ohakune Blues and Roots Festival.
The Taupō events were:
2021 round: Equifest, Love Taupō Trail Festival.
2022 round: Lake Taupō Cycle Challenge – Gravel Grind, New Zealand Geothermal Week.
2023 round: 2024 ITM Taupō Super 400, Aramex Kiwi Walk and Run Series (along with Waikato and Rotorua), Craters Classic, Taupō Disc Golf Classic, Taupō Oceania Events, Taupō Winter Festival.