David Hasselhoff may have drawn in the crowds, but it was business as usual for most Mount Maunganui businesses.

Mainstreet Mount Maunganui manager Leanne Brown says the weather was an important factor determining how many people visited retail outlets.

'Weather has a huge impact on crowds. The crowd definitely petered out; there was a burst of people for an hour or two. I think if the weather was better people definitely would have stuck around.”

David Hasselhoff at Mount Maunganui Main Beach on Thursday.

Leanne says while there were similar crowds to a cruise ship day, the difference was the length of time they spent at the Mount.

'On a cruise ship day, it is always busy and buzzing for a longer period of time, but with ‘The Hoff' it was really a short burst of people. It is pretty hard to judge how well retailers did though since this is the busiest week of the whole lot.”

But Leanne says celebrity attention is never a negative, and the day was a great success for the Mount.

'Even though it was only a short time, it was great. Having celebrities is always really neat for not just the tourists, but also the locals. It is neat to be able to host these kinds of events.”

Deckchair café soul chef Chris Holt says he wouldn't say there was any increase in business, 'if anything it was quieter”.

'We had our normal number of staff on. I wouldn't say it was any busier than a cruise ship day. We were quiet on food but quite busy on coffee.”

The Sand Rock café shift supervisor Amber Forsyth says the café was 'probably as busy as a cruise ship day, a few people definitely came to town to see ‘The Hoff'”.

A Number Eight café coffee barrister who requested not to be named says he 'didn't think there was a big change. We only found out about it on the day.”

None of the three cafes did any special promotions for the Hoff's visit and did not roster on any extra staff.

See SunLive exclusive video interview with David Hasselhoff here.

See the extended interview with David Hasselhoff here.