Time to emerge and reimagine
Royal Albatross Centre and Otago Peninsula Trust marketing manager Sophie Barker describes a global pandemic’s impact on someone born into tourism.
The last month has been unimaginably difficult in tourism as our world falls apart and business disappears.
Not only do we have to try to rebuild in a different world but we are seeing some of our friends fall by the wayside. The fabric of the life we knew, the people, vibrancy and connections are torn apart as daily we read of businesses closing, redundancies and feel the despair of our close colleagues.
I was born into tourism. My family bought Larnach Castle 53 years ago, six weeks before I was born. I thought I’d seen it all: 24% interest in the 1980s, Sars, 9/11, various economic crashes. We’d toughed it out, worked hard and become resilient and nimble. But this time it’s different and devastating.
We’re living in a world of uncertainty, of daily changes, of isolation. We’re also living in a world of information, of ideas, of oversharing. It’s overwhelming.
My days open with a flood of emails and news. They detail the businesses that have closed, the people who’ve been laid off, the uncertainty of the future. I spend the day working remotely on my dining table, brainstorming ideas, looking into what the unknown future holds, trying to look for some certainty and fact to base new planning on. I don’t sleep. I eat badly; sprinkled with a handful of vitamins. I meet online with friends. I receive calls from tearful businesses. I hold their uncertainties and fears in my heart. I read and respond to council emails and meetings but it’s hard to be the best engager remotely when you’re still shellshocked and your heart hurts.
I miss human connection and hugs.
There’s someone else in my house too. My daughter. She’s 16. We haven’t spent so much time together for a long time. Her life was lived in a rush, school, online, friends. Now we we have time for walks, shared cooking and talks. Our pets are exceedingly well groomed for a change. I talk to her about how the future looks now, the importance of her education and seeking training to be able to pivot and be employable in a future I feel will be more challenging for young people trying to get their foot in the door of workplaces.
While trying not to worry her, I share how we have to watch every cent we spend and how we can manage our household budget. I teach her how to homedye her hair (don’t tell her school), we cut each other’s hair and google how to deal with weevils. We wander our neighbourhood and become amateur birdwatchers, enjoying the nature we used to just drive past. Precious times that I’m thankful for.
Various moments glimmer in our restricted world. The kindness of friends on my lockdown birthday, with a Zoom party of longtime pals. A surprise delivery of wine, chocolate and flour organised by an old schoolmate. Meeting neighbours for the first time after busily rushing in and out of our neighbourhood for 16 years. Slowing down. The overwhelming support of the tourism industry throughout New Zealand, with free webinars, offers of help and online networking. Awe at our local MPs on Zoom, their tired faces, receptiveness to our feedback and hard work for us all.
We work on building the garden that we as butterflies will emerge from our chrysalises and tend.
I think as New Zealanders tourism is more like our native moths than splendid butterflies. We work quietly and sensibly, often in plain sight but camouflaged, workhorses of our economy, pollinating our GDP as our top export earner, discreetly employing 10% of New Zealand’s workforce, unobtrusively showcasing our assets to the world, creating joy for those discerning our charms.
It’s time to reimagine our tourism Garden of Eden carefully, planning our framework, deeply fertilising with sustainable ideas and infrastructural compost, creating an environment for nature to flourish, our community to enjoy, reoriginating enriching experiences and revitalising our gardeners to all work together for a shared vision of our paradise.
This is time for the famous ‘‘Cup of Tea’’ break that a long ago Prime Minister suggested we have. Please come and support us when lockdown ends — and don’t leave your town till you’ve discovered your own backyard. You’ll be amazed at the wonders it contains.