The cost of buying local

If there’s any part of New Zealand you’ve ever wanted to visit, the next six months will be time to do it, but be warned your ‘‘buy local’’ principles are likely to cost you. Since last week’s announcement that some of the Budget’s $400 million tourism package was going to a domestic campaign, I’ve been asking just what will get me off the couch and away from Netflix as the nights draw in and the temperature drops.

Will it be a glossy campaign highlighting the regions and tugging on my heart strings, or some sharp deals? Whatever they come up with, it’s going to be a tough sell as it’s not the time of year to be promoting photos of sun-kissed beaches, kayaking, leaping off jetties and eating icecream.

The ski fields and Queenstown might be in for a bumper domestic season if the snow arrives, but for the rest of the country’s tourism operators it’s going to be more hard yards. Once the border with Australia is opened, the competition will really ramp up.

Here’s my two cents: promote the once-ina-lifetime aspect of a Kiwi holiday at home. Let’s face it, New Zealand’s been booked solid in recent years by international visitors, so this could actually be our big chance.

But a fundamental issue is cost. With many of us quietly stressing about whether we will still have jobs amid the impending recession, we’re all going to be cautious with money.

Contrast that with an industry that has invested heavily in meeting the demands of international tourists’ expectations and, with it, increased their prices. This is where there’s a battle brewing.

Are the beleaguered tourism operators going to hold their line on cost, or cave in and cut prices to get bums on seats and bodies in beds?

Here’s the problem: we Kiwis are quite price-conscious and don’t want to, and often can’t, meet the cost of a holiday in New Zealand. It makes sense to me that, if you’re an international visitor to New Zealand, then you’ve been saving your pennies for a once-ina-lifetime trip and you’ll pay that bit extra to do all the activities on offer, pay for the guided tour, stay in a hotel and push the fiscal boat out.

If you’re a Kiwi, even in normal times, you’re probably more likely to be saving your money for the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney World USA, or a family holiday in Australia; not blowing it on a trip to Napier.

But if you’re a tourism operator, cutting costs isn’t easy. The fixed costs of running a New Zealand- based business isn’t cheap. You’ve got operating costs, taxes, you’ll be paying minimum wage at least, shelling out on compliance costs, local government business rates, the list goes on.

To be fair, many of them have only a few summer months to make a profit. Some top-end operators who rely almost totally on international arrivals have already mothballed businesses, rather than eking out deals and discounts for Kiwis which won’t cover the costs of staying open.

So, where’s the balance going to be struck between what Kiwis are willing and able to spend, and what operators can live with to keep afloat? My gut instinct is that it will end up in a tsunami of cut-price deals and holiday offers which we’ll enjoy in the short term but will come at a cost in the longer term.

When we finally let international visitors back in, there might be little for them to come back to.