Thames Coromandel District mayor Len Salt says the cyclone-hit region has been busy letting would-be visitors know it is open for business and he hopes to see good numbers this weekend.
Easter would normally be boom times on the Coromandel Peninsula, which acts as a scenic, buzzing playground for Auckland holidaymakers.
But the indefinite closure of State Highway 25A - a main route to a number of holiday hot spots - and wide spread cyclone damage means the trip is likely to be a little longer and potentially rougher than normal.
It may even mean less visitors.
The critical road crosses the peninsula to Tairua and is expected to take at least a year to rebuild.
Waka Kotahi has been closely monitoring an underslip on State Highway 25 between Waihi and Whangamatā.
However, Thames Coromandel District mayor Len Salt told Checkpoint he was expecting visitors to take advantage of the good weather and enjoy the journey out, but was advising visitors to take it easy on the roads.
"Our businesses really need the visitors and it breathes life into our districts," he said.
Photo: supplied
"The people that live here love it, but when we get visitors the cafes and the restaurants and the beaches are humming and it just gives it that vibrancy.
"We've had a good run - we had beach shop recently which went off really well. We've tasted mattering last weekend which had record numbers. So people are out there and enjoying it again."
Salt said the summer had been a let down and events planned in the region would help make up for the losses.
Government financial aid had also been critical in supporting the local economy, he added.
"There's no sugar-coating that. The businesses that are out there have had a couple of years of Covid, they've had a stink summer. They still need support and we've had a lot of good support from the government, who have enabled us to put in place a Business Support Fund.
"We're out there helping people in the businesses to get through this rough period. But the thing that really gets them going is visitors and bums on seats, when it comes to the cafes and restaurants."
Events planned this weekend include a kite day in Whangamatā on Monday and a concert at the Coroglen Tavern on Saturday, which is a flood relief fundraiser.
He said the district had been working hard to let people know the region was open for business.
"Destination Coromandel has just launched a new initiative, which is basically letting people know the the Loop Road is open.
"State highway 25, that's going to be down for a while. We're not raising any expectations on that, that's likely to be after Christmas. But we'll know in about three to four weeks what the options are for that.
"We'll certainly have the welcome mat out letting people know that we're here, we're ready for visitors."
The region got about $3.8 million from the government's relief fund, which he said was fully subscribed with just over 500 applications.
"We've had also good support for our Mayor Relief Fund and we've had about just over 200 applications for that.
"Most of that money now has been distributed. I'm pleased to say we had fantastic support from our local communities to top up the government contribution, so we have been able to help people.
"We still need support to get through the winter period, but it's certainly looking a bit more promising than it was."
