It might have been the holidays, but Gore found itself as busy as ever as visitors poured in to enjoy the town.
Statistics from the Gore Visitors Centre show sales, donations, and foot traffic for the past month were up from last year and revenue had increased by 23%.
In a statement, Gore District Council visitors experience manager Sharon Cooper said the sales figures were nice but did not tell the full story.
"What the sales figures do not reflect is the numbers of people who came in for information such as maps, inquiries on activities or specific events/locations, plus those seeking family history information from the heritage team."
Mrs Cooper said the uptick could be people bringing their extended families to Gore, rather than venturing outwards.
"Staff reported they were busy after Christmas and much more so than previous years. It appeared more locals had stayed in the area than previous years and that visitors were here predominantly to see family."
Mrs Cooper said Gore has a great niche, being an ideal stop between Dunedin and Te Anau, and visitors were surprised and delighted by Gore.
"The most frequent comments we get are about how pretty the town is or that there was much more to Gore than they expected."
