Capital’s conversion to ghost town about to end

While the world watches almost every minute of the government shutdown in the United States, there is barely a soul left in Wellington to see New Zealand’s lessofficial but more expected one.

As happens each year, Wellingtonians flock from the city for the Christmas and New Year’s break. But with a decent chunk of the capital’s 50,000 to 60,000 workers expected back at their desks today, Wellington is at the beginning of the end of its annual ghost-town phase.

Much of the work that happens in the capital revolves around the workings of government, which goes into a minihiatus at this time of year.

Parliament sat for the final time last year in mid-December and will not sit again until February 12. While government operations do not shut down completely during that time, they do tend to lose some of their intensity in early January.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford said the disappearance of chunks of the city’s workforce was slightly off-set by visitors.

Businesses were well aware of the annual slump and most planned accordingly, he said.

While the rush to escape Wellington was marked by three days of traffic chaos just prior to Christmas, the return would be staggered, with some holding off until after Wellington Anniversary on January 21.

The New Zealand Transport Agency said traffic was flowing freely back into the city yesterday.

Anna Calver, of Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency, said, like many other New Zealand cities, Wellington was quieter during the summer break.

‘‘So last year we ran a marketing campaign to attract visitors to Wellington for January to enjoy an ‘alternative summer’.’’