Sector ‘cautiously optimistic’ on forward bookings
Nelson’s tourism operators say they have not been hit like other regions by wild weather and they are cautiously optimistic about the coming warmer months.
However, there are still challenges for the sector, with staff shortages, a reduced availability of flights and other pandemic related disruptions.
Nelson Regional Development Agency visitor destination manager Tracee Neilson said the big issue on the ground was the continuing shortage of labour.
Neilson said the hotel sector was really struggling and the Rutherford Hotel was ‘‘desperate for staff’’.
Some operators in the top of the south had begun to look offshore to try to attract people to their businesses over the summer. And they were having to reduce the number of products available to tourists as a result. ‘‘We are talking to our operators and saying: what is your minimum viable product you will be offering?
‘‘A lot of them are now having to say for summer, we don’t have 16 kayaking options, we only have a half day, or full day, or an overnight, because the labour shortage is real.’’
However, Nelson operators were ‘‘resilient and philosophical’’ and summer bookings in the area were ‘‘actually surprisingly good with internationals’’.
Visitors were coming from North America, particularly for the luxury sector, she said.
Places like Owen River Lodge, a luxury fishing lodge south of Nelson, and Split Apple Retreat, near the Abel Tasman park, were ‘‘virtually booked out for summer with internationals’’.
Internationals were also making an impact on businesses already.
Neilson said a few days ago the Rutherford Street YHA had 20 German students, as well as Spanish, North American and Indonesian visitors staying, which the hostel was ‘‘totally buoyed by’’.
Wilsons Abel Tasman chief executive Darryl Wilson said the winter holidays were a ‘‘fickle time of year’’, so the firm had reduced its vessel size and journey frequency and had given most of its key staff
the school holidays off. ‘‘These holidays are always marginally viable,’’ he said.
‘‘The reality is if it is raining people are not so inclined to get out anyway, whether it be 10 millimetres of rain a day or 30.’’
In terms of international visitors, the numbers were ‘‘trickling’’ in but it was ‘‘minuscule at the moment’’, in terms of actual feet on the ground in the region.
Regarding forward bookings from September on, Wilsons was seeing positive interest internationally, the only restrictions being the ‘‘fare availability, and the ever present risk of international flights being cancelled’’.
‘‘We always look upon tourism as a plumbing exercise – you have got to have supply and currently the pipes feeding New Zealand, each of the airlines, are constrained.
‘‘There are a whole lot of issues as the airlines ramp up and it will be a while before they regain the capacities that they had,’’ Wilson said.
However, there seemed to be no slackening off of demand from Kiwis looking to travel domestically.
‘‘There is talk of recession and various other things but, if anything, that will probably make more people choose to stay in New Zealand rather than offshore, where they traditionally holiday,’’ Wilson said.
Waka Abel Tasman owner operator Lee-Anne Jago (Ngāti Māhuta, Ngāti Pou, Ngāti Raukawa) said they’d had increasing demand from higher end agents, booking trips for families and couples, whom she described as ‘‘not travelling on a budget at all’’.
They were offering more bespoke trips, which helped to fund local children to get out on the water themselves.
‘‘People really want to engage with Māori culture, and want to know about things that underpin the culture, our relationship with each other and the environment,’’ she said.
Cable Bay Adventure Park owner Richard Ussher has had people from Australia, the US and Europe visiting recently.
‘‘We have seen a few internationals come through already, which is really promising,’’ he said.
‘‘We are cautiously optimistic.’’