Rotorua is one of the key tourist attraction areas in New Zealand. Tourism has been one of the major economic bases in Rotorua from the 1800s until the present day.
As well as the geothermal features the Rotorua lakes, Maori culture, fishing, farm and wildlife exhibits and outdoor pursuits all added to the areas attraction to tourists. In 1989/90 there were a total of 1.67 million visitor nights spent in the Rotorua district, 56% were New Zealand visitors and 44% were overseas tourists.
In 1991 360,000 people visited Whakarewarewa and 600,000 in the 1997/98 year. In the 1997/98 year tourism in Rotorua returned around $249 million directly and $200 million indirectly to the Rotorua economy.
Approximately one in five of Rotorua's population is involved in the tourism industry, compared to about one in 10 in New Zealand generally. The tourism industry provides up to 4,000 jobs in Rotorua although many are seasonal. In the last five years around 1,000 new tourism related jobs have been created. The amenity and recreational values of geothermal resources, particularly the use of geothermal baths, are of significant value to the population of Rotorua.
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