Accommodation and adventure-tour operators are bouncing back hindered only by staff shortages and a lack of beds and helped by North Islanders searching for sunshine
Southland’s international tourism has rebounded quicker than expected with some tour operators busier in late spring and summer than pre-Covid.
And visitor numbers are expected to remain steady at southern tourist hotspots throughout autumn.
Te Anau-based Trips and Tramps owner Kate Norris says turnover at her guided-walk business is “massively up” on pre-pandemic levels.
“Our market is well and truly here and coming to Fiordland.
“It’s been an exceptionally busy season - zero to hero overnight. It’s extremely positive but also overwhelming at times.”
However, with present growth partly driven by pent-up demand, she doesn’t know whether it will be sustainable long term.
The lower patronage of the past three years hasn’t all been negative for Te Anau businesses, says Norris.
“Yes, it was stressful and uncertain at times, but it’s really helped us move our businesses forward and adapt them and show how resilient we can be.”
Fiordland Community Board chair and Lakeside Service Centre owner Diane Holmes says her turnover is also up on pre-Covid levels and other tourism operators report the same.
“Whether that is because tourist numbers are up or because there are fewer of us to provide a service … I think it’s a combination,” says Holmes.
“The country is talking about recession but it doesn’t feel like that in Te Anau.”
The Fiordland town has gone from a shortage of customers to a shortage of hospitality staff, exacerbated by an exodus of overseas workers during the pandemic.
Holmes, a moderator of Te Anau’s job board, says there are signs the shortage is easing with more people seeking work on the Facebook page than applying for jobs posted.
Housing workers is an ongoing issue, which Holmes says is a “catch-22” for the tourist town.
“It’s not like the community board has a magic bucket of cash to suddenly build a whole lot of houses.
“But we can talk to the Southland District Council about the potential for that and about how we could support people to open their houses as rentals.”
The former Hawkes Bay resident is conscious Te Anau’s problem is hardly unique when thousands of North Islanders have been displaced from their homes by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Milford building
The boss of major tourism operator Real NZ, Stephen England-Hall, says “it’s been quite a summer”.
“It’s been much better than expected and demand is higher than planned, which is a great outcome, but it does require a bit of magic by the team to be able to deliver.”
Guest numbers in Milford Sound remain 65 percent below 2019 figures, says England-Hall, but it’s a different story in other southern tourist destinations.
Business at some Queenstown attractions is close to double pre-Covid levels, he says.
Milford Sound is lagging because the China and other Asian markets are yet to recover. Chinese visitors used to account for 11 percent of total arrivals.
The US and Australian markets are “very strong” and New Zealand is getting more Singaporean and Malaysian tourists.
Similarly, visitor numbers from Indonesia and India are growing and there are signs the UK and European markets are returning, says England-Hall.
“We are seeing strong demand for autumn, which is really exciting, and in some instances demand is higher than anticipated for the time of year.”
To the island
Stewart Island Promotions chair Aaron Joy, who owns a backpacker hostel, says his business had a record December, January turnover matched pre-Covid levels and February is looking strong.
The island was hit less hard by the pandemic than other Southland destinations because of its popularity with Kiwis unable to go overseas, says Joy.
He’s noticing a change in the visitor demographic as the European backpacker market revives.
And there’s another notable phenomenon.
“The other thing that has happened is because the weather in the North Island has been terrible this summer people have been jumping on planes and coming south because we’ve had very good weather,” says Joy.
Ollie Peckham, part-owner of Stewart Island Adventures, a snorkelling and free-diving company, is enjoying seeing the return of international visitors, who account for half his business.
“We are having a really good season,” Peckham says, and as a small business, it has potential for growth.
“We started a brand new business six months before Covid but we managed to hibernate pretty well,” he says.
Another buoyant outfit is Te Anau Helicopters.
Jennie Burgess, who also operates Milford Helicopters and Stewart Island Helicopters, says she’s busier than she’s been in three years.
Her Te Anau operation has picked up quicker than expected, hindered only by a lack of Te Anau and Stewart Island accommodation.
Having kept staff on during Covid, the business is less affected than some by recruiting problems.
Once visitors began returning “we were pretty much ready to go”, Burgess says.
She expects her Milford business to get busier once the “tour bus market kicks back in” when the Chinese start travelling again.
Stronger than expected
Mark Frood, the general manager of Southland regional development agency Great South Tourism and Events, says the word in the sector is that the independent-traveller and high-end tour group markets are strong.
Operators are reporting solid bookings for April and barring unforeseen events he expects visitor numbers next summer to be even higher.
International air links are continuing to grow, he says.
“Delta is launching a Los Angeles to Auckland route in November and Emirates is reintroducing Airbus 380 Dubai-to-Christchurch flights in March.
“That opens up Emirates’ huge global network for both leisure travellers and freight,” says Frood.
It’s “fantastic” to see the province’s tourism markets rebounding, says Southland MP Joseph Mooney, which will help the country recover from Covid and the recent cyclone.
Staff shortages remain a problem and some tourism operators are worried cyclone disruption will deter visitors.
Mooney says the message to those booked to travel to the lower South Island is “we are open for business in this part of the world so please keep coming”.
Made with the support of the Public Interest Journalism Fund
