Community pushback on Cathedral Cove international visitor charges

Monday, 29 June 2026

Cathedral Cove will soon infer charges for international visitors.

A proposal to charge an entry fee to international tourists visiting Cathedral Cove has received pushback from the local community.

Almost 70 people descended on the Hahei community hall to provide commentary on the Department of Conservation proposal according to DOC’s minutes of the meeting, highlighting the importance of the issue. The charge is estimated to lie between $20-40.

Key concerns from the discussion included how a steep rate may discourage visitors, and that money collected should go back into the community and also how the money would be collected.

Cathedral Cove’s walking track has been subject to the harsh Coromandel storms.

Cathedral Cove is one of the country’s top natural attraction sites, attracting about 200,000 visitors every year.

“The community is worried about the potential impact of access charges on visitor demand. If charges reduced visitation, it would negatively impact local business and the Hahei community,” the meeting’s minutes stated.

“Revenue generated in Hahei from the access charge should be spent in the region. Some of the revenue from the access charge at Cathedral Cove should be allocated to the council to help with wider funding pressures created by international visitors.“

Thames Coromandel District Councillor and Mercury Bay Community Board member Flemming Rasmussen wants the local community’s best interest put first.

Those at the meeting also pushed back on using “hard gates” to collect charges, with many calling for electronic solutions to be used.

Speaking individually, Thames-Coromandel District councillor and Mercury Bay Community Board member Flemming Rasmussen said he is in favour of the charges.

Cathedral Cove is the lifeline for townships like Hahei.

He pointed to how international tourists are “shocked” they don’t have to pay already, especially given the model is rife throughout global tourist destinations.

Income provided should be benefiting the local community and only offset DOC’s expenses, not divvied out among their discretion and spread across their estate in New Zealand, he added.

Conservation minister Tama Potaka spearheaded the charges set to hit Cathedral Cove.

“Hahei is dependent on international tourism, or tourism in general. We would be looking at a different shaded charging structure so that in the low season you would try and entice tourists to come by having a reduced fee or no fee.

“During the peak season where we haven’t got capacity, the charge… should be a maximum and then you would differentiate it over time.”

Waimata Gemstone Bay is one of the Coromandel’s top spots for snorkelling.

The charge was announced in May by conservation minister Tama Potaka, who described it as a “once in a generation change” and labelling the current system as “clunky”.

“We’re going to charge international visitors in some places, generate a bit more money, then we’ll reinvest,” he added.

In “an ideal world”, Rasmussen said he’d like all income given back to the local council to reinvest in facilities, but added a 50% split is far more realistic.

“The important point is it needs to be a tangible, specific relative part of proportionality. It simply can’t be at DOC’s discretion.”

DOC also received 33 submissions regarding the proposed closures of the Waimata Gemstone Bay track & Hahei Beach short walk.

Similar to Cathedral Cove, both tracks have suffered continual storm damage but hold significant importance as crucial alternative walking sites and links to historical and snorkelling sites.

More than 1,200 people signed the petition to keep the tracks, Rasmussen said, calling them “the lifeline of the community”.

“Without that, we would not have that vibrant local community we have now. It would simply be a tourist township that would have its ups and downs over the years.”

DOC’s formal response to the submissions to keep the tracks is planned by July 6.