Revealed: How school holidays have seen Kiwis spend big in small towns

With the school holidays underway, Kiwis are spending more in small towns than the traditional tourist hotspots.

Kiwis' retail card spending has grown rapidly in the last month, from less than $3 billion in April to nearly $6 billion in June.

Eftpos spending on Waiheke and the Great Barrier Islands is surging, according to figures from Dot Loves Data.

"It's been really good, we've been quite surprised, we're busier than last year and who would've thought," says Waiheke Mudbrick Vineyard & Restaurant owner Nick Jones.

While spending is up in the Coromandel, Wairarapa, Timaru and Hanmer Springs, hotels in main cities are struggling.

Dot Loves Data Government Director Justin Lester says the lack of international tourists is majorly impacting hotels. 

Queenstown, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Rotorua saw a significant decrease in accommodation spending last weekend.

Five-star Auckland waterfront hotel Sofitel went into liquidation on Friday. 

The liquidator told Newshub its downfall is "a result of the impact of COVID-19, and that it couldn't be used as an isolation facility."

Hotels in Hamilton saw the biggest spending drop last weekend, at 75 percent less than last year, but operators say business is finally improving.

"Whole week has been really busy, huge pick-up, way beyond our normal demand that we had anticipated," says Novotel Tainui Hamilton general manager Philip Hilton.

Hamilton & Waikato Tourism CEO Jason Dawson says he can see currently see redeployment returning to the sector, and hopes that will continue into summer.