Waikato expects ‘slow burn’
Trans-Tasman bubble:
With just days to go until Australians set foot on New Zealand soil Waikato tourism operators are expecting a slow burn, rather than the opening of a floodgate.
Pre-pandemic, 40 per cent of international visitors were Aussies and since the travel bubble was announced, website visits for the Hobbiton Movie Set and Waitomo Caves have increased and inquiries for trans-Tasman travel packages have skyrocketed ahead of the border opening on Monday.
Hobbiton’s deputy chief executive Shayne Forrest was buoyed by the interest he’d seen, but remained realistic.
‘‘Having access back to our Australian friends is pretty exciting, and we can’t wait to have them back . . . it’s an important stepping stone for the recovery of the tourism market,’’ Forrest said.
‘‘But we are realistic that we will see a slow burn with the return of the Australian market.’’
It will take a few years back to get back to pre-Covid numbers, it’s not like ‘‘turning a tap on’’.
Australians make up 20 per cent of overall numbers at Hobbiton, acting as their biggest international market.
Before Covid, more than 650,000 people would visit the movie set each year, supporting 280 staff.
But overnight, that number dropped, with 26 staff and 70,000 visitors.
Now there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.
In recent months, the company began re-employing staff to keep up with the New Zealand market. It’s back to 65 staff members, with some casual staff moved into full-time positions.
In 2019, Air New Zealand flew around 4400 passengers from Australia to and from Hamilton.
According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Australian tourists and business travellers spent $162 million in Waikato in 2019.
Further southwest, Waitomo Caves is facing a similar trend.
Tourism Holdings chief executive Grant Webster said Waitomo doesn’t get many Australian pre-bookings, but search interest has been strong.
Australians made up 80 per cent of
Waitomo Caves’ market with more than 500,000 tourists stepping through its door pre-Covid.
It pumps about $87m into the district annually.
In the first half of 2020, the district only reached $60m – a 28.3 per cent fall – and around $18m of that came from international visitors.
A quick survey of members of the Commercial Accommodation Providers of Taupo¯ (CAPT) hadn’t yielded an explosion of bookings, said chairman Barry Searle.
‘‘The most anyone has got is three and that’s us. Some have one, some have none. Ours are for July this year and March next year. Pretty much a non-event at the moment.’’
The 40 member CAPT includes hotels, motels, holiday camps, lodges and backpackers.
‘‘The first night I’ll be honest we picked up the bookings in the morning and thought ‘great three bookings’ and that’s how it’s stayed,’’ he said.
He could see the first wave would be people coming over to see parents and elderly relations and therefore mostly staying with family.
‘‘We may not see any movement or much movement until the ski season . . .
‘‘This is normally a lull season anyway, so nobody expected to see people rushing over unless it was a knee-jerk reaction to get out of town.
‘‘It’s pretty much business as usual with the local market at the moment.’’
Destination Great Lake Taupo¯ general manager Jane Wilson said trans-Tasman travel was an important step in welcoming international arrivals and foreign exchange back to the country.
Australian tourists and business travellers spent $50 million in Taupo¯ in 2019, according to MBIE.
‘‘Prior to Covid-19, Australia was the Taupo¯ region’s number one international source market and was growing strongly, with visitor spend up 10 per cent year-end February 2020,’’ said Wilson.
‘‘Importantly Australian visitors travel midweek and visit year-round, playing an important role in balancing out domestic travel, which is driven by weekends, events and school holidays.’’
However, like Searle, she sounded a note of caution about any instant windfall.
‘‘We are starting to see some Australian bookings filtering through but as expected we do not anticipate significant leisure travel will be back until later in the year as the uncertainty around border closures dissipates and travel confidence returns.’’
For the past few years DGLT has been specifically targeting Australia’s east coast during the shoulder season.
Another caveat for commercial providers Searle saw, was that the Australian winter visitor market, whether boom or slow build, would also be partially catered for by the likes of Airbnb.
AUT University School of Hospitality & Tourism professor Michael Lueck said while there’s certainly some pent-up demand for travel the first off the plane were likely to be those visiting friends and family before more casual tourists joined in.
They are also keen self-drive tourists, so vehicle rental, as well as campground and holiday parks, are expected to see an increase in bookings, Lueck said.
‘‘This type of holiday also tends to favour places off the beaten track, which means that the regions will also see some activity, and much needed customers.’’
‘‘Having access back to our Australian friends is pretty exciting, and we can’t wait to have them back’’ Hobbiton deputy chief executive Shayne Forrest