TNZ chief warns of tougher times ahead

Outgoing Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen EnglandHall says autumn will be the industry’s moment of truth after its first summer without international visitors.

His pick is that next year will be tough, and it will be 2022 to 2025 before we see any significant recovery in the sector.

‘‘We’ve never been through a peak season without international visitors, which is what we are about to experience now.’’

Latest Statistics NZ figures show the total tourism spend was a record $41.9 billion for the year to the end of March, an increase of 2.4 per cent or $1b on a year earlier, and international visitors were responsible for $17.5b of that.

The tourism satellite account is the sector’s data ‘‘bible’’ and its publication is a reminder of how heavily New Zealand relied on domestic and international visitors who delivered $3.9b in GST, and supported 225,384 jobs.

The industry directly contributed $16.4b to GDP (5.5 per cent), and the indirect value added from other industries supporting tourism generated a further $11.3b.

England-hall is confident Kiwi domestic travellers will help ‘‘keep the lights on’’ over the next couple of months, but there is no escaping the dearth of overseas spending.

‘‘Come February when we’re back at work and the kids are back at school, there will be a big hole and that’s when we will see the real pressure come on the tourism industry.

‘‘We probably didn’t see that so much this year because of Government support in various forms, whereas next year will be more challenging, and not just for tour

Outgoing Tourism New Zealand chief executive ism, but hospitality, entertainment and recreation will all feel the heat.’’

When TNZ surveyed 3500 tourism businesses back in May about 20 per cent had closed or mothballed some or all of their operations, and England-hall said it would be interesting to see how they had fared when the research was repeated after summer.

‘‘If you’re a business that’s 100 per cent dedicated to the international market and you don’t have a proposition that meets domestic market needs, you will find it more difficult the longer the border remains closed.’’

‘‘Come February . . . there will be a big hole and that’s when we will see the real pressure come on the tourism industry.’’ Stephen England-hall