Tourism firms brace for chaos
The slip that has closed the main West Coast highway is a headache for Fox Glacier and Franz Josef, which between them host about 4000 visitors a day at this time of year.
Glacier Country promotions agency head Ashley Cassin said his
100 members, ranging from accommodation to guiding operators, were bracing to cope with the fallout as visitors revised their travel plans.
Fox Glacier and Franz Josef have about 3000 beds between them and they rely heavily on traffic flow from the north, which is cut off by a
400-metre slip between Whataroa and Harihari.
The road is not expected to reopen until Monday and the flowon effect of changed itineraries is already being felt around other parts of the South Island.
Cassin said a major closure over the peak season could have a ‘‘pretty significant’’ impact on businesses if the slip was not cleared quickly.
Cassin said juggling accommodation could be tricky, as availability would depend on whether incoming visitors cancelled.
Travellers who could not wait faced a 700-kilometre drive back over the Haast Pass through Wanaka to Christchurch, he said.
Scenic Hotels chief executive Brendan Taylor said the company’s five hotels at Franz Josef, Fox and Haast were emptying fast.
‘‘Unfortunately it was going to be the busiest weekend we’ve had this year. We were full up, and you would probably find in Franz and Fox there would not have been many rooms available . . . All group tour business has gone because they will not be able to reschedule.’’
Taylor said travel agents would be looking for accommodation around the rest of the South Island, which might prove difficult because Scenic’s Dunedin hotel was also full.
Tourism West Coast head Jim Little said the regional tourism organisation had suggested northern touring routes for visitors unable to head south.
The New Zealand Transport Agency has advised that because of the depth of the debris in the slip, it would take several days to shift.