Raglan businesses ride surf comp’s economic wave

Tuesday, 19 May 2026

Monday was deemed an off day, but Raglan and the wider Waikato was buzzing as surfers and spectators explored the region. Pictured Professional surfer Crosby Colapinto from USA.

Raglan businesses are already feeling the good vibes from the WSL event with the town’s population swelling to summer highs and cafes doing record numbers.

After a cracking start to the World Surf League Corona Cero NZ Pro event, the town was still buzzing on Monday with streets filled with visitors and lines flowing out of eateries WYLD Raglan and The Shack.

With Monday deemed an off day, the surfers set off to explore what the Waikato has to offer. One of the standouts of the early rounds, Alejo Muniz of Brazil checked out popular Blue Spring and ticked off Hobbiton.

The Colapinto brothers planned to hit the golfing green on their day off. Pictured Professional surfer Griffin Colapinto from USA.

Meanwhile the Colapinto brothers visited The Shack for brunch before hitting the golf course.

The event has come at just the right time to bolster what is normally the start of the slow months. The Shack was packed on Monday, following a booming weekend, owner Alix Thomson said.

The Shack owner Alix Thomson says they did their “biggest day” ever on Saturday.

Businesses say the event has come at just the right time to bolster sales through the slower winter months.

“It’s been really good for us. This Saturday was probably one of the biggest days we’ve ever had. It rivalled Sound Splash weekends easily.”

Raglan Roast head of operations Alanah Bruce reckons the event is a great way to enhance Raglan’s surfing future.

She had asked summer staff to stay on longer to cover the event.

“It’s been really nice. We’ve heard a few people saying that the pros reckon this is the place to come eat.”

The streets of Raglan were buzzing with foot traffic and it was a fight to get a table at local eateries on Monday.

Likewise Raglan Roast Coffee, a partner of the event, has doubled their revenue compared to this time last year and have sold “thousands” of coffees across their Raglan store and carts at the event.

Head of operations, Alanah Bruce, said they could have been even bigger if they’d had more machines and staff available - they had already roughly tripled staffing numbers.

Luke Hughes Raglan Surf Co director says the event has brought in good sales numbers and the WSL merch is fast selling out.

“This time of year we really start to cut off. We get past the long weekend and it starts to slow down. I remember as a kid working in my dad’s surf shop because he couldn’t afford staff over wintertime.

“I would love to be involved again and for it to come back not just from an economic perspective but for the effects an event like this has on the young people.

Waikato District Councillor Lisa Thomson thought the event had run extremely well so far and the flow on effects would extend past the ten days (file photo).

“Seeing the athletes interact with the kids is really what’s the most special and will create a more long-term benefit for the community.”

Raglan Surf Co director Luke Hughes reckoned off days were better for business and said the event was a learning experience for business owners who didn’t know what to expect.

Bayleys Raglan real estate agent Mark Frost says enquiries increased just over the weekend for holiday homes.

“Saturday was just crazy. It was like summer trade and foot traffic, whereas Sunday was manageable for us.

“Outside of the economic benefits, the biggest bonus I see is the sheer emotion and positivity it has brought to the community.”

The general consensus was that the event had gone off without a hitch and there were no complaints from any of the people the Waikato Times spoke to.

Their most popular item was WSL merch that they were quickly selling out of and their own branded T-shirts. They had customers from as far as Christchurch and Wellington.

Whāingaroa General Ward councillor Lisa Thomson said the event “brought a lot of activity to Raglan over the weekend”.

“This is a really quiet time of the year, so to be able to have an event of this size come to Raglan at this time of year is really beneficial for businesses.

“This is an event that has been watched by millions of people globally … Raglan looks awesome and our community is being amplified across the globe, so the effects won’t just be felt over the ten days.

“There’ll be that knock on impact of people wanting to come to a little place like Raglan … I think we’ll see those visitor numbers increasing.”

Thomson said affordability was “always a worry” for the community. While WSL could not be singled out as a cause for concern, in recent years Raglan had “been discovered” and costs of living had increased alongside property values.

“It’s a real challenge for our community … but we need to find ways that our community can own land and perhaps create a community driven development that is creating affordable housing.”

Bayleys real estate agent Mark Frost reckoned enquiries had already increased over the weekend by approximately 20 to 30%.

“From a real estate perspective, there’s a lot more people in town and we’ve had a good increase in enquiries from that … It’ll be a bit of a longer play for real estate because people come here and the seed is planted for them to want to come back.”

He said interest had mostly been from kiwis and they had made enquiries about holiday homes sitting in that $900,000 to $2 million bracket.

“I think that everyone is just blown away with how professional it is and they’ve put on a great festival.”