Official numbers reveal just how big Coromandel gets over summer

Thursday, 26 March 2026

On the first day of 2026, there were an estimated 88,000 visitors on the Coromandel Peninsula, a report to councillors says. Pictured are people enjoying Hahei Beach later in January (file photo).

Visitors poured into the Coromandel Peninsula over summer, pumping $84.8 million into the local economy.

The surge also stretched services, with council crews cleaning public toilets more than 600 times a day, but the council says prep kept things running smoothly over the peak season.

Generally, between 500,000 and 600,000 people visit the peninsula over the summer peak - from 20 December to 6 February - a report to Thames-Coromandel District councillors says. Most head to the eastern coastline between Whangamatā and Matarangi.

On 1 January alone, the district’s population swelled to about 120,000, including roughly 88,000 visitors, a report signed off by Civil Defence and Emergency Management manager Brian Carter says.

Coromandel visitors spent $84.8m over the peak period in 2025-2026 (file photo).

That influx drove $84.8 million in visitor spending across 1.82 million transactions over December and January, despite a 6% drop in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. Domestic visitors made up the bulk of that, spending $70.44m.

The biggest spending day was December 31, with tills ringing to the tune of $3.88m, closely followed by January 2 with $3.78m. Retail trade was the top spending category, followed by food - though both were down on previous years - and accommodation spending was “notably down”.

The biggest concert, in Matarangi, attracted about 7000 punters and there were also crowds of more than 1000 at music events at The Coroglen Tavern and a Waitangi festival in Whitianga, Carter’s report said.

“The regular galas, market days and fairs all reported between 2,000-3,000 attendees although once again, sales appeared to be down on previous years.”

A January storm was one of the reasons fire crews were extra busy. Pictured is a Tairua home in late January.

Emergency services were kept busy, with the 371 fire call-outs more than double the previous year’s figure, Carter’s report says.

Weather events accounted for 168 fire jobs - a January storm triggered a precautionary state of emergency and caused damage across the district.

However, structure fires were “notably elevated, including multiple fires in the Hahei/Hot Water Beach area and a Christmas Day house fire involving 11 occupants who all escaped safely”.

The visitor influx also put pressure on the council’s infrastructure. More than 100 public loos were serviced at least twice daily, with 608 toilet cleans carried out each day, Carter’s report says. Crews used 12,096 rolls of toilet paper and emptied hundreds of bins daily to keep up with demand.

Waste services collected about 2000 tonnes of rubbish, along with 400 tonnes each of glass and recycling. At the same time, customer service requests climbed to 3579, up 12.33% on the previous summer.

Water use reached 309,654m³, but no restrictions were needed, while roads operated without major issues or deaths.

And there were 2549 patrols to make sure people were following the rules relating to dog control, freedom camping and parking, Carter’s report said. “The levels of compliance were consistent with previous years.”