Be our Guest - Try Tawa: What We Learned From The Spring Survey
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- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
A massive thank you to everyone who took part in our Be our Guest - Try Tawa Survey this spring. Your input helps us, the Tawa Business Group, understand how people experience Tawa’s town centre - what you love, what you use most often, and where the opportunities are to make our business community even stronger.
We received 80 responses between 1 September and 31 October, gathered through social media promotion, posters, community newsletters and handing out flyers at Spring into Tawa.
Your support helped us paint a clearer picture of local shopping habits and favourite spots around town.
What You Told Us
One of the strongest messages from your feedback is that Tawa locals are loyal. Over half of you visit Tawa businesses multiple times a week, and 80% of respondents live right here in Tawa. From everyday essentials to your favourite café treats, it’s clear our community supports local.
When it comes to the types of businesses you use most, it’s no surprise that food and drink topped the list - with 95% of respondents visiting a café, restaurant, or supermarket in the past month. Retail and auto services (including filling up at the petrol station) also featured strongly.
You also shared your favourite places around town, with New World Tawa, Tawa Books & Post, and the Sprig & Fern leading the way. Across the full survey, you mentioned around 40% of all the businesses in our Business Improvement District (BID) - a great sign that you know and value the variety Tawa has to offer.
Your comments also highlighted opportunities. Some business areas, like home improvement services and the Takapū Rise Business Park, didn’t come up in your responses, which shows us where we can lift visibility and promote more of what is available locally.
Where People Shop - And Why
While Tawa is the go-to for day-to-day essentials, many of you also shop in Porirua for larger stores, a broader range of products, and the convenience of having everything in one place.
Porirua was the most popular destination (82%), while Wellington CBD and other Wellington suburbs were mentioned by 28% of respondents. 14% said you visited Lower Hutt, including Petone.
Understanding these patterns helps us think about how Tawa businesses can stand out and better meet local needs.
Be our Guest
We were delighted to draw a winner from all survey entries. Congratulations to our prize recipient, Kimberley, who chose a $100 voucher to spend at Kinnari Thai restaurant.
Kimberley and her partner had a delightful evening tucking into various beautifully presented and tasty dishes (see Kimberley's photos of the evening below).
Kinnari Thai is a relatively new restaurant in Tawa, and was the top business mentioned as somewhere you had heard good things about but had not visited.
What’s Next? Try Tawa - The Summer Survey
We will be running a summer version of the Try Tawa survey, with new and updated questions. It will only take about 5 minutes to complete and runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026. You can complete it here.
Whether you participated this time or are considering joining in the next round, we would love your input. Every response helps shape how we support local businesses, promote Tawa, and plan for the future.
Thank you again for sharing your experiences, and for continuing to support the wonderful businesses that make Tawa a great place to live, shop, and connect.
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