More than 2440 University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic students will graduate this month, sparking increased demand for hotel beds and restaurants and boosting the city's economy.
Overall graduation activity continues at a high level this month, only narrowly below last year's December record of more than 2600 Dunedin tertiary students graduating in person.
Otago Polytechnic will tomorrow stage the first two of eight tertiary graduation ceremonies in the city this month.
A record 1463 people (up from 1430 last year) will graduate from the polytechnic, in afternoon ceremonies at the Dunedin Town Hall, but slightly fewer people, 644 (660), will graduate in person, polytechnic figures show.
This is the second year that the polytechnic has catered for rising graduate numbers by holding two December ceremonies.
For a long time it held only one.
Otago Polytechnic external relations director Mike Waddell said there was much for Dunedin to ''celebrate'' in hosting two of the country's ''two leading tertiary providers''.
The expanded polytechnic graduations were not only injecting money into the city's economy, but were adding to the city's vibrancy, including by strengthening and adding further skills to city businesses, and bringing ''new blood'' to Dunedin and Otago, Mr Waddell said.
The university will also hold six graduation ceremonies at the town hall, at 1pm and 4pm, on each of three days, starting this Saturday, and then next Wednesday and the following Saturday.
More than 1900 university students will graduate in person at the six ceremonies, and about 630 people will graduate in absentia.
Otago Motel Association president Alex Greenan said the graduations were providing a ''fantastic'' boost to the city's economy, although he believed there would still be some motel beds available in the city next week.
Dunedin i-Site visitor centre manager Louise van de Vlierd and other sector representatives said the busy graduation days, and their four associated student capping parades, would also add significantly to the city's liveliness and appeal.
Three of the capping parades - tomorrow, Saturday and next Wednesday - coincided with cruise ship visits to the city.
