whalesong.kiwi
www.whalesong.kiwi
Whale Song Impact Explorer

Every visitor leaves opportunity.

Explore how one destination can create benefits that ripple through Kāpiti and beyond.

Aerial bronze Whale Song pod
Whale Song creates a reason to visit.
From this catalyst, benefits ripple through business, conservation, education, culture and community.
The Story

A wayfinder to Kāpiti and beyond.

Whale Song is designed to draw visitors into the district, then encourage them to explore, spend, learn and connect with the wider region.

It is not only a sculpture project. It is a visitor destination, a cultural story, an education platform and a catalyst for local economic confidence.

Explore the Ripple

Adjust the visitor assumptions and watch the impact flow.

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Use the compact sliders in the floating menu to change annual visitors, capture rate and average spend. Every figure below updates instantly.

Set the visitor scenario.

100,000500,000900,000

What this illustrates.

The figures below are driven by the scenario you set.

Change the visitor assumptions and see how visitor spending flows through the direct visitor economy, business reinvestment, development, employment and regional activity.

Use the sliders in the floating menu to adjust the visitor assumptions and watch the benefits flow through the sectors that can benefit.
1 · Participating Visitors375,000

Visitors engaging with the destination.

2 · Direct Visitor Spend$22.5m

The first dollar created by visitation.

3 · Visitor Economy$22.5m

Food, retail, accommodation, attractions and transport.

4 · Business Growth$4.1m

Services purchased as businesses grow.

5 · Investment Flow$2.7m

Trades, property, suppliers and development.

6 · Jobs Supported188

Indicative FTE equivalent.

7 · Regional Activity$78.8m

Indicative wider regional activity.

Indicative model: visitors × capture rate × average spend. Jobs use one FTE per $120k of direct visitor spend. Regional activity uses a 3.5x multiplier.

Layer 2 — Direct Visitor Economy

Where the visitor dollar goes first.

These are the sectors most likely to receive the first visitor dollar.

Adjust the sliders on the right and explore how the impacts change.
Layer 3 — Business Growth and Reinvestment

Visitor-facing businesses then purchase more services.

As cafés, accommodation providers, retailers, attractions and transport operators grow, they create demand for professional, financial, marketing and workforce services.

Layer 4 — Investment and Development

Growth creates confidence to upgrade, build and develop.

Business confidence can flow into trades, construction, property, development, manufacturing and supply.

Adjust the sliders on the right and explore how the impacts change.
Economic Ripple

The first tourism dollar does not stop at the attraction.

The flow diagram summarises how visitor demand can move through direct businesses, secondary services and investment sectors.

Whale Song logoWhale SongThe catalyst
First dollar
Food & BeverageCafés · restaurants · bakeries · bars
Retail & ShoppingGifts · supermarkets · specialty stores
AccommodationMotels · hotels · Airbnb · holiday parks
Attractions, Galleries & MuseumsTours · events · culture · heritage
Transport & ConnectivityRail · taxis · shuttles · rental cars
Business growth
Marketing · media · signage
Accounting · legal · consulting
Banking · insurance · finance
Training · recruitment · HR
Investment
Builders · electricians · plumbers
Fit-outs · kitchens · lighting
Property · development · suppliers
Beyond Economics

Whale Song creates more than visitor spend.

The wider value sits across environment, education, culture, community pride and regional identity.

📚

Schools

Creates a living education platform for ecology, art, culture and place-based learning.

🤝

Mana Whenua

Connects visitors with authentic stories, partnership and identity.

🐋

Marine Education

Inspires curiosity about whales, oceans and conservation.

❤️

Community Pride

Gives local people a public place and story to be proud of.

🌏

Regional Identity

Positions Kāpiti as a distinctive destination for New Zealand and international visitors.

Project Journey

From vision to destination.

A staged journey lets Whale Song begin creating value while building toward the complete seven-whale vision.

01

Today

Governance, concept, engineering and community advocacy are established.

02

Stage One

Four whales and foundations for the full pod establish the destination.

03

Visitors Arrive

The visitor economy and education programmes begin.

04

Confidence Grows

Businesses, sponsors and partners see the momentum.

05

Stage Two

The remaining whales complete the artistic vision.

06

Complete Destination

Whale Song becomes a lasting wayfinder to Kāpiti and beyond.

Why Whale Song Matters

One destination. Many kinds of value.

Different audiences will see different benefits. The strength of Whale Song is that these benefits are connected.

Tourism

Visitor Economy

A reason to stop, stay, spend and explore.

Environment

Conservation

A public platform for stream and habitat education.

Culture

Storytelling

Connecting visitors to place, legend and identity.

Education

Learning

A destination schools can use as a living classroom.

Economy

Business

Visitor spend that can flow into multiple sectors.

Community

Pride

A shared public legacy for future generations.

Evidence and Transparency

The assumptions are visible.

A transparent starting point for due diligence, drawing together visitor modelling, regional economics and project-specific assumptions.

Infometrics

Visitor, employment and economic impact context for Kāpiti Coast.

Sense Partners

Kāpiti Road economic assessment and regional activity context.

Angus & Associates

Tourism demand, destination planning and visitor economy expertise.

Tourism New Zealand

National visitor trends, dispersal and visitor economy context.

Kāpiti Coast District Council

Strategic planning, growth and town-centre alignment.

Whale Song modelling

Project-specific visitor capture, wayfinding, local spend and sector flow assumptions.

One destination.
Countless outcomes.

Whale Song — a wayfinder to Kāpiti and beyond.

Whale Song logo
www.whalesong.kiwi

Our Support Network

Partnered and Supported By

Lead Partner

Coastlands Shoppingtown

Proudly Supported By

Puketapu ki Paraparaumu Trust
BECA
Wētā Workshop
Mills Albert
Full Financial
Tilt Architecture
The Wellington Company
Kāpiti Law
ASB
Blue Star
Lions
Rotary
Kāpiti Coast District Council
Probus

Whale Song is a community-led project. We thank all our partners and supporters who are helping shape a legacy for future generations.