$10.2m bungy bailout
AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand may get up to $10.2 million in government funding to ensure its survival post-Covid-19.
The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis yesterday as part of the $400m Tourism Sector Recovery Package.
AJ Hackett Bungy will receive a $5.1m grant in the first year, with a possible loan of up to $5.1m available in the second year if borders remain closed to international tourists.
The company’s co-founder and managing director, Henry van Asch, said the funding was welltimed.
‘‘We’ve been contributing to the communities we’re operating in and delivering our life-changing experiences to people from around the globe for more than 30 years and are doing everything we can to ensure we can continue to do so,’’ he said.
‘‘Even after considerably resizing our business across New Zealand we are still facing significant losses through to whenever the tourism market rebounds.’’
AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand was established in 1988, with the first site situated at Kawarau Bridge near Queenstown.
The company has expanded to six sites across Queenstown, Auckland and Taupo¯, offering jumps, swings, sky walks, catapults and zip-rides.
AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand is owned by Bungy New Zealand, which has three shareholders, including Fun Innovators NZ, owned by Henry Van Asch and John Ward. The two other shareholders are Trojan Holdings, owned by John Davies, and Gulley Holdings, owned by
Andrew and Claire Brinsley and Farry & Co Trustees.
Bungy New Zealand received $219,288 in wage subsidies for 32 staff, but announced staff cuts in May, with a spokeswoman saying at the time 150 jobs out of a staff of 224 could go.
But van Asch said the grant would help the company maintain staffing levels, in particular of its specialist jump masters, to let it ‘‘scale up again when international visitors return’’.
Davis said it was important to protect a ‘‘world-famous tourism asset’’ that offered flow-on benefits to its local community.
‘‘We’re committed to the tourism industry’s recovery, which is why our $400m Tourism Sector Recovery Package is so important,’’ he said.