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Tourism operators around New Zealand are accepting that they will be significantly affected by the latest Coronavirus lockdown according to Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) Chief Executive Chris Roberts.

TIA has welcomed Friday’s announcement - that all of New Zealand south of Auckland will move to Alert Level 3 from 11.59pm on Tuesday 31st August - as the first step in lifting restrictions but acknowledges that most operators will not be able to open their doors until the country reaches Alert Level 2.

Roberts commented “inter-regional travel is not possible under Alert Level 3. Hopefully, in a week or two, some parts of the country will be back to Level 2, and safe travel can resume.

“However, Aucklanders are the biggest source of domestic visitors and while Auckland remains at a higher alert level, it severely limits how much domestic tourism activity is seen around the rest of the country.

“The reality is that domestic tourism will not be able to fully resume until all of New Zealand is at Level 2.”

Going on to advise that tourism operators could be facing a long period with little or no revenue, other than government support from the wage subsidy and resurgence payment, Roberts added “tourism was the first industry to be affected by the pandemic and will be the last to recover. Tourism businesses face significant financial challenges in getting through the coming weeks. For many, the most useful thing they can do right now is encourage their staff, their whānau and everyone they know to get vaccinated.

“The higher the vaccination rate, the greater likelihood that we can get on top of this virus and enjoy the freedom to travel again.”

Image courtesy of AJ Hackett Queenstown.

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