Donna Smith, co-owner of The Hideout, a café/restaurant on Paihia's Kings Road, said the town had been ominously quiet until 27 December. That day it was as if someone had flicked a switch.

A surge of visitors into the Bay of Islands since Christmas is just what the tourist hotspot needs after years of disruption, business owners say. Donna Smith, co-owner of The Hideout, a ...