Downtown Auckland’s spark reignites as events draw crowds back to the waterfront

Sunday, 12 October 2025

Queen Street’s vibe is about right at its waterfront end; mid-town and upper Queen remain works in progress.

Walking around downtown Auckland on a weekend feels different. There are people around - in good numbers - and they seem to be enjoying their surroundings.

Quay Street is bustling with people, and the ferry terminal delivers more punters in regular intervals.

There’s activations on, an Air New Zealand grab-a-seat pop-up outside Commercial Bay, and free games of chess and carrom (a tabletop game of Indian origin) just across the road.

While the mid- and upper-Queen Street areas remain a shell of their former self, and at times feel unsafe, Auckland city centre’s waterfront area - and everything south of Customs Street - feels vastly different.

That strip from Wynyard Quarter through the Viaduct, Commercial Bay to Britomart and the lower part of town has its own heartbeat.

Events around Auckland city’s waterfront are said to be bringing consumers back into the CBD and, while they may have once made a dash for Queen St - previously considered Auckland’s golden mile - they seem to be flocking towards the waterfront and Viaduct Harbour.

Heart of the City pedestrian counts show a lift in foot traffic in that area, and Precinct Properties’ retail spending figures and the company’s own pedestrian counts show foot traffic and spending in this part of the city centre is rebounding.

The company told The Sunday Star-Times total sales for August were up 9% on the year prior, driven by food and beverage sales and events like Restaurant Month and NZ Fashion week in August.

September sales were up 9%, and foot traffic was up 5% on last year.

Activations and free events have been held around Auckland’s waterfront in recent weeks as a way to stimulate the local economy.

Precinct Properties said it 'continued to see a positive response to event and activations throughout the city and Commercial Bay', for example foot traffic for opening night of Solstice was up over 15% on a typical Friday evening.

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said spending from international tourists in the downtown Auckland waterfront area is up 50% compared to levels in 2019. That part of the city centre was “vibrant” and “the vibe is good”.

Events around the waterfront have attracted thousands to the area in recent weekends. The Chocolate and Coffee Festival, Winetopia and Chemist Warehouse’s Oasis brand event, which saw 400 influencers and hundreds more consumers donning pink IKEA-style shopping bags through The Cloud, have pulled sizable crowds.

The Chocolate and Coffee Festival held at the Viaduct Events Centre late last month saw just under 7000 people through its doors over a two-day weekend event, a 13% increase of attendee numbers last year.

About 75 local businesses were at the event, and organisers said sales during that weekend were up 20% compared to last year.

International spending in the downtown Auckland waterfront area is up 50% on 2019 levels, according to Heart of the City.

Beck said Restaurant Month was successful for many businesses that held events and promotions, and New Zealand Fashion Week held at Shed 10 had a significant impact in the area, with spending across apparel and hospitality retailers having “jumped” up that week, on prior periods.

“Domestically, the cost of living is still biting a bit, but not as badly here as some of the other areas in the central city.”

The Post reported this week business owners in other parts of Auckland CBD, those operating in and around the Queen Street valley area, are unhappy with the state of the city, saying they believe homelessness and disorderly behaviour is driving people away and hindering their financial success.

First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said that is not uncommon for major cities, which had both their aspirational and less desirable parts.

He puts the marked uplift in the Auckland downtown area down to a few things - the appeal of Commercial Bay - home to 10,000 office workers and more than 120 retail and hospitality operators; “exciting events” and an aspirational environment drawing people back.

“When visitors head to Auckland, the downtown area is really that beacon, that area they orientate to and from, and every city has those types of places,” says Wilkinson.

“In Wellington it's Te Ngakau Civic Square area, in Christchurch it's typically Cathedral Square. In Auckland in the old days, it would have been the Aotea Square area, that's where there was that cluster of big retail - the likes of Smith & Caughey’s - but nowadays, without a doubt it's that downtown area.

“It's a tourism focal point, there's a significant amount of employment there, and you also have a very well curated retail and hospitality offering, and that's primarily because you have two very switched on property owners.”

The opening night of NZ Fashion Week 2025 outside Shed 10 in downtown Auckland.

The upbeat vibe in downtown Auckland was translating to more people and therefore more spending and happier businesses in the area, says Wilkinson.

“Down there we've also seen a shift of businesses back into the city. For a while, there was that trend in businesses moving out [to more suburban areas], but with the likes of CRL coming and the environment that’s been created, it's actually earning the return of businesses back into the area, but it's also earning the return of people back into the area because it's a buzzy place to be,” he says.

“We live in a pretty confronting world out there, but being able to be in these types of environments really does help lift people's spirits, and that's what they're gravitating to.”

Beck said Heart of the City expects more visitors to downtown Auckland this month once the Britomart, Commercial Bay and Viaduct Late Night Bites event kicked off; once cruise ship season began and through the rest of the year and particularly over summer as Christmas events played out.

Sail GP was scheduled for February, and the City Rail Link would open later next year.

While foot traffic and spending levels in the area had not returned to what they once were, Beck said she was “optimistic looking ahead”.

She was also optimistic about the government’s recent $40 million Events Attraction Package to fund and secure large-scale events, with international concerts top of that wish list.

“Tourism isn't yet where we want it to be, but we have had good international spend in that area, so we know it's an appealing place for tourists.

“People will be looking forward to the summer; more tourists, good weather and … a beautiful environment.”