Te Papa today passed the two million visitor mark in just under twelve months of operation. Te Papa’s Chief Executive, Dame Cheryll Sotheran, said she is delighted by this achievement which is particularly pleasing coming only a few days before Te Papa’s first birthday celebrations.
'We are all thrilled by this milestone although it’s business as usual until next Sunday 14 February when Te Papa will pull out all the stops to celebrate its first birthday,' said Dame Cheryll.
'Te Papa’s birthday celebrations will have a distinctly kiwi flavour. At 11.00am the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra will perform Gareth Farr’s wonderful Te Papa, written especially for our opening last year. At 12 noon there will be dramatic kapa haka performances in Te Papa’s Marae. At 1.00pm, Pavzilla, New Zealand’s biggest pavlova covered in cream and kiwi fruit, will be cut and generous slices distributed to our visitors. It’s Te Papa’s birthday cake and a small way of saying thank you to the people of New Zealand, our sponsors, and supporters. At 4.00pm, outside in the Plaza, Sam Hunt and the Warratahs will perform. In addition, there will be entertainment through out the day - everything from Cook Island drummers, the Salvation Army Brass band, costumed characters, and street theatre,' Dame Cheryll said.
Te Papa’s regular random exit surveys reveal that 97 per cent of visitors will recommend Te Papa to their friends and family and 76 per cent will visit Te Papa again within twelve months. Some 37 per cent of visitors are already on repeat visits.
Approximately, 39 per cent of Te Papa’s visitors are from the Wellington region and a further 41 per cent are from the rest of New Zealand. Of the 41 per cent of visitors from outside Wellington, approximately 25 per cent are from Auckland, 28 per cent live in the top half of the North Island (excluding Auckland) and 19 per cent live in the lower half of the North Island (excluding the Wellington Region). Some 12 per cent are from Canterbury and 15 per cent are from the rest of the South Island.
Some 18 per cent of Te Papa’s visitors are from overseas. Almost 31 per cent of these are from the UK, 22 per cent from Australia, 16 per cent from the United States and Canada, 16 per cent from Europe, 3 per cent from Asia, and 12 per cent from other regions.
During the Christmas holiday period (26 December 1998 - 5 January 1999), Te Papa had just under 86,000 visitors.