Make the most of Godzone

One of the many silver linings we’ve found in this whole Covid cloud has been the opportunity to get to play in our own tourism backyards without having international visitors around. A silver lining for some, but a giant black cloud for part of the tourism industry, particularly those solely focused on the international market. Iconic tourism attractions and towns like Queenstown and Rotorua are feeling the impact and, with another lockdown this week, there is no sign of relief.

Yet many of the other regions have been booming. It took me six hours for a four-hour trip to Napier last weekend and I almost had to remortgage my house to pay for the accommodation. Hawke’s Bay tourism didn’t look like it was suffering.

To date the industry has been supported with the general business wage subsidy, plus a tourism fund whose criteria were confusing and questionable enough to now be under the auditorgeneral’s scrutiny.

Kiwis have been having a ball enjoying their country, but now school’s in and a brutal year awaits operators. Last week the Government indicated there would be no more propping up tourism and its only hope for a trans-Tasman bubble is pushed back as more Covid cases pop up. So, what does the industry do to survive?

Kiwis will continue to be the market for some time yet, so the challenge will be for operators to appeal to us to keep business going until borders open. However, companies like inbound tourism operators, whose bread and butter is delivering itineraries for international visitors, have little option but to close their doors until borders reopen.

For the rest price-cutting is not a long-term option, although I’ve been grateful for the discounts that have enabled me to experience fivestar lodges for only an eye-watering cost rather than a megabuck one. Not to mention the top-class food, top-class service and top-class beverages I’ve been experiencing.

But we’re a poor substitute for the thousands of visitors who would have poured in off coaches and cruise ships every day, paying sometimes triple what a local would be charged.

Idon’t need to be a psychic to foresee more tourism companies going to the wall this year. The question is do New Zealanders care about an industry in dire straits? Well, I, for one, do. It’s an industry I worked in for over 15 years. It’s created jobs, grown regions, brought in a stack of foreign exchange, as well as thousands of visitors, and contributed to the country’s GST take.

And the fact is we’re enjoying our country at the moment because the increase in visitors has helped develop our towns. You’d have a short memory if you didn’t remember the pre-tourism boom when it was tough to find a decent cafe´ in the regions, or a shop open on a Sunday, or decent accommodation.

On the flipside, there are fewer queues at attractions, no drama over freedom campers, fewer campervans on the road and no hoard of cruise shippers filling the streets. I’m sure there are plenty of people saying they kinda like that. But we kinda need the tourism industry long-term too.

So this year, make sure you continue to take advantage of the silver lining Covid has given us and support tourism to stop businesses shutting their doors.

Maybe take a week or two to explore the country instead of just a few long weekends. After all we may be trapped, but we’re trapped in Godzone. Let’s enjoy it.