Hundreds of thousands of Kiwis flocked to Auckland’s viaduct for the America’s Cup in the past few weeks, but the lack of international visitors amid the Covid-19 pandemic means organisers won’t be getting the windfall they’d hoped for.
The Government splashed cash on this year's campaign, with taxpayers investing over $136 million in the event. Meanwhile, ratepayers contributed $113 million for infrastructure through Auckland Council.
More than 26,000 international visitors were expected to pump $1 billion into the economy when the funds were committed four years ago. But, due to Covid-19, that number was dramatically reduced.
Still, more than 370,000 people for the 15 race days visited the America’s Cup village in Auckland.
Auckland Council’s economic and cultural agency Auckland Unlimited said it would be carrying out a full review of the America’s Cup in the coming weeks.
General manager Steve Armitage said there was “just something about this event” that attracted Kiwis.
“Pleasingly, we’ve seen good numbers of domestic visitors coming through.”
But Armitage said domestic tourists couldn’t ever replace international ones.
“Clearly, that has been a central factor in how we review the event … It’s not going to meet the heights we were expecting, but certainly there are enough positives for us to feel a level of confidence that we’ve delivered a world-class event to probably an increased audience.”
While the full economic effects won’t be seen until a few weeks have passed, Aucklanders said they had seen an uptick in people.
Charter boat skipper Peter Behrent said he’d been flat out, with the crowds keeping caterers and staff busy.
Claudia Reis, the owner of pretzel food truck Let’s Brezel, said she “couldn’t believe” how many people were in the city.
“The atmosphere, the vibe. People cheering.”
The Minister for Regional Development and Tourism Stuart Nash told Breakfast this morning it was “money well spent”.
“What is really difficult to quantify is there would have been a whole lot of people sitting in lockdown in their Covid winter watching New Zealanders out on the Hauraki Gulf having a fantastic time and saying, 'You know what, when the borders open that's where I want to be.'”
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