Hope for business lift as visitors return to Rotorua

or four weeks through lockdown, running it from her house.

“A lot of people were quite appreciative.”

“Hopefully people are feeling like they want to see friends and connect again, I think some people will have gotten used to being in their bubble.”

She said the business is also doing a “local’s rate” of 20 per cent off of the theme room hire.

Mitchell Downs Tavern shareholder/partner Jay Bhullar said their quiz night will start on Tuesday.

The tavern’s regular event nights will restart again after Queen’s Birthday weekend, he said.

“We are really thankful and grateful for people. We encourage people to come in locally because we do support our local community as well, like sponsorships.”

Bhullar said locals had been coming in to ask how lockdown had gone for the business.

“Some businesses unfortunately won’t survive through this which is sad. We were lucky.

“I think at this time everybody realises how important social events and gatherings are. It’s great community spirit, that’s why I think it was an eye opener for everyone.”

Pig and Whistle Rotorua owner Gregg Brown said they are looking to start their quiz nights, but cannot see how to make it work with the current distance requirements due to limited space.

He said as soon as social distancing restrictions eased, and they can, they will be straight into it. The same goes for their live music events.

“Tourism is going to find it very hard and hospitality is not far behind.”

Answer: Neon encourage spending across the city.

While the weekends are looking good for motels again, mid-week business is struggling, he said.

That is also being felt in hotels. Tourism Industry Aotearoa Rotorua Hotel Sector chairman and Copthorne Hotel Rotorua general manager Blair Chalmers said after a tough few months hotels were looking forward to having some people around.

He said three of the city’s hotels were still closed and others were operating to about 50 per cent capacity due to staffing levels.

He said Covid-19 had forced hotels to restructure their businesses, which meant losing staff members.

He said of the 1850 hotel rooms in Rotorua, about 900 were operating, with about half of those booked for this long weekend.

Destination Rotorua chief executive Michelle Templer said after a tough few months, the first long weekend since moving to level 2 was “shaping up to be a busy one for Rotorua”.

“A number of accommodation providers are already reporting strong bookings for the weekend and while there are still some rooms left, reservations are coming in fast,” Templer said.

She said the “vibrancy” of Rotorua after lockdown was starting to return and hoped locals would become “ambassadors for the city, encouraging friends and family to visit this weekend and in the weeks ahead”.

“The support we’re seeing from New Zealanders making Rotorua their first getaway destination after lockdown is really appreciated. “There’s also an important role for locals to play in supporting businesses and exploring the wealth of activities and attractions that we have on our doorstep.”

Among them is Rotorua’s Volcanic Air and general manager Steven Newland who said he has started noticing people walking around the city again.

He said being reliant on domestic tourism post-covid-19 lockdown, they have looked at how they could appeal more to that market.

This week the company released a new service from their Rotorua Lakefront base that includes a short scenic flight over the city before landing on Lake Rotoiti for a soak in the Lake Rotoiti Hot Pools, which are accessible only by water, and returning to base.

Yesterday, they had their first customers for that experience.

“You really have to realign your focus on what products are going to be good for Kiwis,” Newland said. “Tourism is a team sport.”

He said people are about in Rotorua at the moment, and having received a lot of feedback and inquiries about their new service, he had his fingers crossed for some good weather this long weekend.

But according to the Metservice, there will be rain tomorrow, Sunday and Monday, with weekend temperatures ranging from between 8-16C.