Kiwi tourists come out to play
The South Island’s tourism sector burst back into life during the long weekend but businesses still need Kiwis to get out and spend their dollars over the winter.
Tills were ringing from Marlborough to Southland as people enjoyed the warm weather and the chance to get away now the Covid-19 lockdown rules have been relaxed.
A ChristchurchNZ spokesperson said it was ‘‘extremely encouraging’’ to see Cantabrians support local businesses, but that support needed to continue.
‘‘If we are to mitigate the worst impacts of Covid-19 on our economy, it’ll be important to continue to support local as we move into winter,’’ they said. ‘‘If those with the means continue to spend and support local businesses, they will help save Christchurch jobs.’’
In Hanmer Springs, accommodation was sold out for Queen’s Birthday Weekend, while bars, restaurants and retail also did a roaring trade.
Graeme Abbot, general manager of Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa, said they were packed out over the three days.
‘‘We’ve had a fabulous weekend,’’ he said.
‘‘Due to Covid, we’ve had to restrict the number of people in the pools.
‘‘We’ve had about 1000 people a day, over three sessions, and we’re delighted to have people back in the complex.’’
He said visitor numbers to the town were higher than on a normal Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
‘‘We’ve had a huge number from Christchurch, but we’ve also had quite a few from Nelson and quite a large number from Dunedin. Everybody is really relaxed and just so pleased to be back.’’
Robert Gamble, manager of HAVENz Punakaiki, which has a selection of holiday homes and apartments, said the West Coast has been busy and the weather was ‘‘superb’’ all weekend.
He said all their properties were occupied from Friday to Monday, with most visitors
‘‘Everybody is really relaxed and just so pleased to be back.’’
Graeme Abbot
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa general manager
having travelled from Canterbury or Nelson.
‘‘It’s been a busy weekend, right up there with a normal Queen’s Birthday Weekend.’’ he said.
Madeleine Peacock, Destination Fiordland manager, said Te Anau – the gateway to Milford Sound – was busier than Queen’s Birthday Weekend last year.
She was hopeful flights between Australia and New Zealand would reopen sooner rather than later though.
‘‘We are all hanging out for the transTasman bubble.’’
Australia was New Zealand’s most important tourism market in both visitor numbers and spend, she said.
In Banks Peninsula, Akaroa was ‘‘buzzing’’, i-SITE manager Doreen Machnick said.
The historic town had such an influx of visitors that accommodation was scarce.
‘‘It was definitely a busy weekend,’’ she said. ‘‘On Saturday there was no accommodation left, that we were aware of.’’
She said most visitors seemed to be from Canterbury with people enjoying the shops, bars and restaurants in the warm weather.
‘‘There were a lot of people around, it was great to see them. They go in the shops, they do some activities, they dine out. There are a lot of people around, and they are definitely spending as well.’’
In Queenstown, which has been hit hard by the sudden lack of international tourists, visitor numbers were also high.
Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult said hotels and motels had been ‘‘pleasantly busy’’ over the weekend.
‘‘It’s great to see people in the streets again,’’ Boult said. ‘‘I was in Arrowtown [on Saturday] and it was very busy. I’ve only spoken to a couple of operators, but they tell me that there’s plenty of people in town and they are taking activities. I ran into some people from Christchurch and some Aucklanders, people from all over New Zealand.’’
He said although it was only one weekend, it was ‘‘a whole lot better than what we had before’’.
‘‘They will go home and we will go back to being very quiet again but certainly from where we’ve been it’s been very pleasant to see.’’