Campervan rates cut to make work more wanderful
Tourism Holdings has slashed motorhome rates by up to 40 per cent in a “work from anywhere” campaign.
It is aimed at boosting demand during what threatens to be a soft summer for motorhome rentals without overseas visitors.
The company is working with Vodafone and Tourism New Zealand on the promotion which runs for most of summer on long-term rentals.
Rates for motorhomes are averaging about $150 a day (before the discount) now and the travel package for long term rentals includes discounts for campgrounds, tourist attractions and the optional unlimited data.
Tourism Holdings (THL) chief executive Grant Webster said working from motorhomes was popular in the United States where his company operates Road Bear vehicles.
“People use them as Covid cocoons,” he said.
The concept had yet to catch on in this country but he hoped the promotion would encourage it.
“We saw the opportunity to do something for the wellbeing of our people while helping regional economies.”
Webster said November had been quiet for motorhome bookings outside weekends and February could be the same.
Vodafone says it already supports a work-from-anywhere approach and is encouraging other Kiwi companies to do the same.
Vodafone NZ’s chief people officer, Jodie King, said it had ben an incredibly taxing year.
“Enabling our people to work from anywhere and support this campaign over summer was a natural fit,” she said.
”From experience, we know it’s possible to work remotely and effectively — because for many of our people, it’s [business as usual].”
Bjoern Spreitzer, general manager
domestic at Tourism New Zealand, welcomed the potential of the work-from-anywhere movement,
“Working from Anywhere means workers will have more time to spend exploring the country and doing something new, at the best time of the year to experience it.”
Discounts apply to six vehicle types across the Britz and maui range and start at 20 per cent off daily vehicle hire rates for 14 to 27 days and 40 per cent off for 28 days or more.
The offer excludes the period from December 21 this year to January 10 next year.
While the campervan campaign is aimed at filling the gap left by overseas arrivals, the Tourism Export Council says it is critical for the industry to have open borders by October next year.
The council hosted a symposium yesterday focusing on international tourism only, the impact and future demand from overseas markets and how New Zealand is preparing for the return of international visitors.
Chief executive Lynda Keene said it was critical that the border was open for the start of the 2021-2022 season in the fourth quarter of next year, not early in 2022.
“If the border does reopen for longhaul travellers to return in Q4, the survivability rate for many businesses will be on the positive side. They will just make it or limp to the start of the season after hibernating for 18 months,” she said.
Not many businesses would survive if the border doesn’t reopen until 2022.
“That is just too long. It is absolutely imperative that inbound tour operators are still in business to revive and reignite the pipeline with offshore wholesale agents and provide the commercial link with New Zealand tourism businesses, said Keene.
Inbound tour operators (ITOs) “act like Fonterra” linking the product farmers produce with offshore markets. “If you take ITOs out of the distribution system (as the commercial conduit) it will take the international tourism sector five to seven years to recover.”
If operators remained in the tourism eco-system managing the safe return (including contact tracing) the recovery period will be shorter, within two to four years.
We saw the opportunity to do something for the wellbeing of our people while helping regional economies. Grant Webster, chief executive, Tourism Holdings