The Taupō District saw a marked reduction in police call outs and arrests over the holiday season despite large numbers of visitors to the area, and Taupō police Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen is putting this down to the cooperative effort between police and the council.
"We've had a real turnaround in the situation in the central business district. A few years ago we were seeing 200 to 300 arrests over the New Year period, and despite very large numbers of visitors we had just 20 arrests this year. I think a big part of what's changed has been how police and council have worked together to make things more family friendly. And as we have changed the environment we have had to deploy less police resources, and council has had to spend less time on cleaning up rubbish and replacing trees and street signs, which used to take a bit of a thrashing," he said.
Council chief executive Gareth Green said that in addition to things like changes to liquor ban areas there had been an increased focus on attracting families to the district.
"We've worked hard with bar owners about what they offer and have focussed our events and marketing on couples and families. The great thing is that those groups tend to stay longer and spend more, so they are keeping our retailers and tourism sector busy. Visitor spend in the last quarter to December rose 12.7 per cent, so we think we've got the mix right."
Mr Jeurissen said changes to several reserves and the council's freedom camping ambassadors had also played an important role in making popular visitor spots safer. The ambassadors were introduced in December and have been active in Taupō, Turangi and Mangakino, offering visitors advice and monitoring camping on reserves.
"One of the best examples is Hipapatua (Reid's Farm). We used to get calls to that location regularly, and there would be serious assaults and drunkenness, but this year we've had almost no calls, despite the fact that visitor numbers are up. People are still going there, but because the environment has changed and the ambassadors are there on the ground people are being much more responsible."