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Waikato shoppers had the tills ringing to the tune of $343 million in November, nearly four per cent higher than last year.
3.8% above the year earlier figure, according to data from card spending bean counters Worldline NZ.
According data from card spending agency Worldline NZ, Waikato’s 3.8 per cent increase made it one of only three of 18 locations that saw rises in spending. Others were West Coast up 6.3% to $32 million, 5.4% in Whanganui to $55 million and a 5% climb in Otago to $254 million.
The Waikato year-on-year rise also outstripped the nationwide figure of 1.1% to $4.1 billion.
When it comes to total November card spending, only three locations saw more money change hands than Waikato; Auckland/Northland at $1.5 billion, Canterbury at $502 million and Wellington - just - at $344 million.
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It’s part of a project to spruce up the central city, which the council says “needs some love”.
New street furniture is also popping up along the main street, and further work will include lighting, a clean for pavers and tables, and getting rid of dead trees, Hamilton City Council says.
The Hood St light poles need repairs to keep them going, Operate and Maintain unit director Tania Hermann said in a statement.
“We are sanding and painting the poles which we expect to extend their life by 20 years and which is a more affordable option than full replacement.”
New hotels can’t come soon enough if Hamilton wants to lift its share of domestic tourism spend and overtake Wellington, city leaders say.
Figures show spending by Kiwi visitors in Hamilton and nearby districts held steady in May at $61 million — the fourth-highest in the country behind Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.
But acting city council chief executive Sean Murray says Hamilton’s visitor economy won’t take off without more beds.
“We know categorically that we are missing business because we don’t have enough rooms in the city,” he said.
To fix that, two major developments are in the pipeline: the Pullman Hotel, due to open next year, and Templeton’s planned hotel, which has yet to confirm its timeline.
Nearly 9000 passengers have taken flights to and from the Gold Coast and Sydney in the first month alone.
About half were inbound and half outbound, Hamilton airport said. Some were the same people travelling in both directions.
Of the nearly 9000 passenger count, 4887 were on the Sydney flights and 4014 on the Gold Coast services, according to Statistics NZ data.
The figures were revealed at Tuesday’s Hamilton City Council economic development committee meeting in a presentation from Waikato Regional Airport Limited (WRAL), of which the council is a 50% shareholder
About 22,100 people have been commuting into Hamilton for their jobs each day.
That’s about equivalent to the population of Cambridge, and makes up a big chunk of the city’s workforce.
“It’s already a nightmare coming into the city at peak times”, Hamilton city councillor Sarah Thomson said - so the council will have to work with its neighbours on transport options.
She was speaking after a meeting on the figures, which are based on national Census data and were outlined in a report to the latest city council strategic growth and district plan committee.
The flow goes both ways for Hamilton. Some 13,100 residents head out of the city borders for work - about 9% of the city’s workers, according to the latest 2023 figures.
City leaders have rolled out the financial red carpet for ‘the best theatre in the country’.
The Waikato Regional Property Trust has been granted $70,000 from Hamilton City Council to celebrate the opening of what’s promising to be ‘a very big story for the city’ on the national stage.
As the final layers are peeled off and the full face of the $80 million Waikato Regional Theatre comes into view, it’s time to start planning the party.
Councillors approved the $70,000 in financial sponsorship at this week’s economic development committee meeting and while general manager destinations, Sean Murray, said it was “a little bit out of the ordinary”, it would deliver “substantial profile”.
Two of Hamilton’s newest bridges have got “massive” international recognition, showing they measure up against projects including billion-dollar transit hubs.
Te Ara Pekapeka and the Taurapa pedestrian bridge, which connect Hillcrest and the future Peacocke development, got a special mention at the Architizer A+ Awards, placing them among the top 5% of global entries.
The international awards recognise excellence in architecture and design. Out of more than 3500 submissions, the Hamilton bridges stood out in the infrastructure category, placing them alongside mega projects like European train stations and billion-dollar transit hubs.
“It feels pretty amazing, this is massive recognition for a small studio in a small country,” said Harry Croucher, principal at Edwards White Architects and one of the lead designers.
As of May 2025, there were 705 equivalent full-time international students enrolled, up 44% from May 2024, according to figures released by Te Pūkenga.
In the 12 month period ending May 2025, international students at all Te Pūkenga polytechnics saw growth.
Wintec operations manager Warwick Pitts said international student numbers at Wintec and across Te Pūkenga are returning to pre-Covid levels.
He said New Zealand had a strong international reputation before Covid and that remains true.
Te Matatini may be heading for Hamilton sooner than the scheduled 2029 date - if one Hamilton City Councillor has her way.
Councillor Maria Huata said she has been lobbying for the event to come to Hamilton / Kirikiriroa and that there had been “rumblings in the ether” that it could be staged here in 2027.
Huata made the comments as Hamilton also positions itself as one of the contenders for hosting the Homegrown music festival.
Huata said she was “dead set on [Te Matatini] being held in Kirikiriroa”.
The biennial event, which was staged in New Plymouth this year, was scheduled to next take place in the Nelson-Marlborough region, though funding doubts have been raised about that location.
Senior city councillors are calling for action by the “highly-priced” supermarket duopoly to prevent shopping trolleys being pinched by streeties and ending up as abandoned eyesores in Hamilton’s inner city.
They supported supermarkets using “geo-fencing” technology which locks up trolleys if someone tries to take them out of the supermarket car park.
But they also indicated they weren’t afraid of using a stick, with a possible bylaw to enforce it also mooted.
The councillors’ call came at Thursday’s economic development committee meeting which discussed a report by the Hamilton Central Business Association, whose members have regular problems with anti-social behaviour.
A big shake-up for one of the CBD’s busiest streets is on the cards as officials grapple with the reality of bold plans to bring a new “five-star” $100 million Pullman Hotel to the city.
The changes to Ward St include a new two to three vehicle loading zone area with a five-minute limit outside the current Chemist Warehouse - guests will be able to park their cars there before they’re taken away promptly by a valet parking service.
A range of other parking tweaks - which reportedly won’t cut total on-street parking space in the area - have been suggested, a city councillor briefing heard. Final recommendations will go to a council hui this month.
A Trade Me report on the last quarter of 2024 shows Hamilton had three of the five ads that prompted the most applications.
Nationally, total job applications remained high, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
An ad for two retail assistant roles in Chartwell attracted 531 applicants in the December quarter, while 507 people applied for another retail assistant role there.
During the same period, 520 people responded to an ad for four warehouse picker/packers in Hamilton.
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