Hope more Kiwis will visit Chathams
WAITANGI: The Chatham Islands are the closest most New Zealanders can get to international travel without packing their passport.
With the country’s border heavily restricted due to the Covid19 crisis, Chatham Islands tourism operators are hoping they will see more Kiwis take a trip ‘‘overseas’’ to visit their archipelago.
Sitting more than 800km east of Christchurch, the islands are rugged, remote and home to just 600 people.
Tourism on the island has been hit hard by the pandemic, which struck towards the end of the peak visitor season, but tourism operators hope things will turn around soon.
Flowerpot Bay Lodge is on Pitt Island, about 14km south of the main island, and is accessible by boat and plane.
Coowner and operator Brent Mallinson said the lodge lost between $30,000 and $40,000 in bookings when the season ended abruptly for lockdown.
‘‘The six weeks we effectively lost — the second half of March and April — is really some of our better months.’’
Those weeks often provided funds to get through winter and the start of the next season, he said.
‘‘Of course, that didn’t happen, so we’re pretty keen to get back open again.’’
The Chatham Islands are an attractive destination with much offer tourists, he said.
‘‘It’s sort of like stepping back in time a little bit, 20 to 30 years, in a good way. So life is quite based around the tide and the wind, rather than the clock and the calendar. It has a look and a feel — it’s rough and rugged and beautiful.’’
About 2000 people visit the
Chatham Islands each year.
Chatham Islands Tours owner operator Kerry Fleming is feeling positive about visitors returning.
‘‘I guess the unknown for everyone is how long it’s going to take for people to feel comfortable moving and for the community here to feel comfortable with people coming and going.’’
She knew some businesses were considering whether to reopen their doors.
‘‘We generally have a very quiet low season. I think some operators have been more prepared for this earlier, to close down, than others.
‘‘When the industry starts, we can pick up and move with it.’’
Work was also under way to extend the usual visiting season, she said.
Tourism Chatham Islands manager Jackie Gurden said interest was starting to return.
‘‘Talking to the people that are taking tours over there now, they’re all locking in and continuing with their tours. Talking to one of them, their trip is threequarters full already.’’
Tourism Chatham Islands’ 2019 strategic and business plan found the industry was open to doubling the number of visitors to the destination over the coming years to meet accommodation occupancy targets, but only if it was sustainable and under the islanders’ control.
The economy relies on fishing, farming and tourism, and domestic tourism accounts for more than 90% of the visitor market.
‘‘The fact that people will be looking at where they holiday and it provides that holiday destination for them that in a sense is overseas. I think the impact is going to be one of potential growth,’’ she said.
‘‘None of us know the outcomes of Covid, but certainly I think it does provide quite an opportunity for the Chathams.’’
Nonessential flights, cut since the first Friday of lockdown, have resumed under Alert Level 2.
Air Chathams is the sole flight provider and general manager Duane Emeny said lockdown had hit the business hard.
‘‘We were operating 120 scheduled services — that was passengers and cargo each week — and that reduced over Level 4 to six services per week. That’s just essential freight primarily to the Chatham Islands, so a huge impact on our business.’’
Air Chathams is offering three return passenger flights a week, but has not ruled out increasing the number if there is increased demand.