Bring on trans-Tasman bubble
Plenty of visitors descended on Te Anau in Southland for Queen’s Birthday weekend but the sooner the trans-Tasman airways reopen the better, a tourism leader says.
Destination Fiordland manager Madeleine Peacock believed Te Anau, the gateway to Milford Sound, was busier than the 2019 Queen’s Birthday weekend. ‘‘It was a surprise given our situation.’’
New Zealanders had made the most of their own backyard and some had visited Milford Sound for the first time, she said.
It was a welcome boost after a devastating two months for the tourist industry, with mass staff layoffs and the slow winter months looming ahead.
But Peacock was hopeful flights between Australia and New Zealand would reopen sooner rather than later.
‘‘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.
She was confident the trans-Tasman route would reopen before any other, but it was unknown when that may be given the conflicting reports from politicians.
‘‘We will be very glad to welcome them when they do return . . . but all it takes is for there to be second wave [of Covid-19] somewhere and that will be put in jeopardy.’’
Fiordland, including Te Anau, had been one of the hardest hit tourism regions, she said. ‘‘We don’t attract the same attention as the likes of Queenstown or Auckland or Rotorua but we are no less affected . . . so anything we can get is going to be helpful.’’
Te Anau’s Sandfly Cafe owner Carolyn Fox said it was ‘‘extremely busy’’ during Queen’s Birthday weekend.
Te Anau’s holiday-home owners had arrived and there were plenty of people from Invercargill and some from Auckland. ‘‘Generally it’s Kiwis and locals at this time of year and I am not noticing much difference compared to last year.’’
The town’s international tourist numbers usually started picking up in August and September, she said.
‘‘It will be interesting to see how it goes from here . . . we are all hoping we will get that trans-Tasman bubble by September.’’