An influx of domestic visitors to Reefton injected an additional $2.8m into the economy last year alone.
"If you eat this chocolate you have a little bit of a taste of 7000-year-old water that came from Fox and Franz."
The Prime Minister announced $500,000 extra support during her visit to the West Coast.
Here's the latest.
Business operators expect tourist numbers to drop from Monday.
"I pulled her out of the water and there was a brown thing about three feet long connected to her."
It's due to the rising price of gold and a popular Aussie TV show.
The woman was reported missing after failing to return from a hike on Saturday.
The road between Canterbury and the West Coast will be closed for five-hour spells in the coming week.
