Hamilton’s mayor has explained why the city decided to start charging concessions for out-of-towners to access its famous themed gardens.
Starting today, out-of-town visitors will need to pay a $20 entry fee to enjoy the themed areas of the Hamilton Gardens, while locals and children under 16 will still be able to enter for free.
Until today, the gardens were free for anyone to access, regardless of where they lived.
The gardens are one of New Zealand’s top tourist attractions, seeing millions of visitors each year.
They are best known for their 18 themed gardens, which include the Italian Renaissance, Ancient Egyptian, Tudor, Tropical, Modernist, Surrealist, Indian Charbagh, English Flower, and Chinese Scholars. It also features a Mansfield Garden and Japanese Garden of Contemplation.
But according to Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate, world-class gardens “don’t come for nothing”.
She said it cost the city and ratepayers around $6 million a year “just to maintain it in tip-top shape”.
“And we have to look at new ways of funding that”, hence the fee, she said.
“We have to pay for the upkeep of these gardens. We’re obliged to keep them in their best, international world shape.”
Southgate expected the fee for out-of-towners and international visitors to generate around $10 million in revenue over 10 years.
“And as I’ve said, it’s $6 million a year to maintain, so that’s just a small contribution from other than Hamiltonians to upkeep the gardens.”
She said the city was trying to keep access “as affordable as possible”.
The city also intends to run “specialised” concessions “for purposes” like open days and events.
“But don’t forget, there’s actually a large part of the gardens that’s actually still free to everyone all of the time.”
Southgate understands why people who live near Hamilton were upset but said they “have to understand the big picture”.
“And Hamiltonians should not bear the full cost of this,” she said.
She said the cost wasn’t too high, but “without this, the gardens will be financially unsustainable”.
“We won’t be able to put in the new gardens and keep everything in tip-top shape.”
