Organisers of an international surf festival and tournament to be held in Taranaki next April deny beaches will be overrun and locals squeezed out.
The week-long festival will be held at New Plymouth and southern Taranaki beaches. It includes an international Dream Tour event featuring the world's top 17 women's surfers.
Surfer and surf shop owner Billy Hunter says local surfers would prefer the event to be held solely in New Plymouth to save south Taranaki beach-goers cleaning up the mess.
Event organiser Mike Hareb says although the location of the major two-day international event is yet to be decided, most of the festival will be in New Plymouth.
However the participants in the Dream Tour event deserve the best waves and the best breaks in the region, he says.
Mr Hareb says the beaches will be well equipped with security and won't be ruined.
