Joel Parkinson of Australia, Piha, 2006

Here’s an interesting article about surfing tourism, what it can add to local economies, and where it can all go bad.  Piha has its share of surfing events, and since the 1950s, it’s been sought out as providing surf breaks close to the metropolitan centre. Surfers from other parts of New Zealand, and from overseas, value Piha for its breaks, its challenging surf and its spectacular location. There’s hardly a day but there aren’t surfers out there on the waves from sunrise to dark. Surfing and Piha are a natural fit and they’ve got along pretty well together.  But are there things to watch out for? At Piha, the commercial aspects that go with surfing – surf shops, surf schools, camping and back packers – are low key and there hasn’t been the negative side talked about in this article.  But it is food for thought.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10770820