Holiday weekend bonanza in Wairarapa | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

More than 30,000 visitors are expected to flock to Wairarapa for a bumper calendar of events this Waitangi weekend.

The events include the Martinborough Fair, Summer Festival racing at Tauherenikau, the Summer Vineyard Tour concert, an MG Car Club rally and the Waitangi Day festival.

Destination Wairarapa marketing manager Barb Hyde said Waitangi Day falling on a Monday for the first time in many years was great for the region.

"It's even better that significant events including the Martinborough Fair, the MoreFM Summer Vineyard Concert and the Tauherenikau Races are held over the entire weekend," she said.

"In addition, new events such as Papawai Marae's open day on Monday are expected to be of interest to visitors staying for the long weekend."

She said many visitors were staying the weekend and accommodation providers were near capacity, with the Martinborough and Masterton i-SITE teams still fielding enquiries from groups wanting to stay.

Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park general manager Jerry Crump said the hotel was "absolutely chocka".

While generally busy for holiday weekends, having many members of the MG Car Club to stay was "extra special".

Restaurants and cafes are also expected to benefit from the boost in visitors.

Travis Clive Griffin, of Bar Salute, Greytown, said he already had plenty of bookings and it would be one of the biggest weekends of the year.

The White Swan assistant manager, Terry Tibble, said guests would definitely need to book a table, but they might be able to squeeze more people in.

South Wairarapa Mayor Adrienne Staples said the southern part of the region was the place to be with two major events. "It does the local economy a huge amount of good," the mayor said. She said the Martinborough Fair brought in up to 30,000 visitors and proceeds would go to support local charities and organisations.

Wairarapa Chamber of Commerce chief executive Steph Gundersen-Reid said the range of high quality events was a boost for the economy and she hoped businesses would stay open to make the most of the weekend.

About 3000 people were expected to attend the MoreFM Summer concert at Daisybank Farm, while Waitangi Day Festival event manager Tirau Te Tau said up to 500 people were expected to turn up at Henley Lake on Monday.

Sunny skies are predicted for most of the long weekend, with Metservice forecasting highs of 21C on Saturday, 20C on Sunday and 23C on Monday.