Hastings economy holding its own, despite cyclone

Spending is strong in Hastings, with the latest Marketview quarterly financial report showing the economy continues to grow at a faster rate than the national average.

The April to June 2023 report on electronic card spending in the district showed that the biggest increase had come from international visitor spending, up 27 per cent on the same time last year.

Since June 2020, overall spending in Hastings had grown year on year from around $950m in 2020 to more than $1200m in 2023.

While some of that increase could be attributed to rising prices, it was also notable that the number of transactions had increased.

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the figures were particularly positive given the challenges of Covid-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle over the past three years.

“Despite these challenging times it’s heartening that Heretaunga Hastings is still performing well.

“Even in the last three months with our district still significantly impacted from the cyclone, spending has increased by 5.2 per cent – higher than the national average of 3.8 per cent.

“It shows that people are coming to Hastings and supporting our economy, and we also may be starting to see people who have now received their insurance payouts from the cyclone spending locally to replace their flood-damaged items.”

As well as increased international visitor spend, purchasing by visitors to Hastings from Napier and Central Hawke’s Bay was also up.

Spending growth was highest in department and leisure stores, cafes/restaurants/bars/takeaways and apparel/personal shopping – with accommodation, home/hardware/electrical spend falling.

In terms of spending locations, the greatest growth was in Hastings central city, followed by the rest of Hastings district, St Aubyn St South and large format retail. Spending fell in Havelock North and Flaxmere.

The spending figures did not account for cash or online purchases.

1 August 2023

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