While the tourism industry was thrown a $400 million lifeline in yesterday’s Budget, some tourism operators remain skeptical about how the money will be dealt out to those in the struggling industry.
As the coronavirus pandemic shut borders at home and around the globe, tourism operators have been left in the lurch as international tourism came to an abrupt halt.
General Manager of Whale Watch Kaikōura Kauahi Ngaora says that over 50 per cent of the town’s GDP is derived from international tourism and there is concern about how his community of Kaikōura will cope.
Only 20 per cent of Whale Watch Kaikōura’s revenue came from their domestic market says Mr Ngaora and he's now calling for more targeted support for communities reliant on support from international visitors.
He says there needs to be swift action in allocating the funds from this Budget to the areas within the industry that need it the most.
“It’s time to see action, they need to identify those targeted interactions that are going to save jobs and start supporting the industry. Because for us we’ve got that $400 million so let’s get on with allocating every cent of it.”
He says that businesses are finding it hard to identify the “light at the end of the tunnel” without any certainty for when the international market will be back up and running.
For Whale Watch Kaikōura, Mr Ngaora admits the next 14 months will be “really challenging” but he’s determined to keep his business and Kaikōura afloat.
“This is much harder than the earthquake but we are absolutely committed to getting out the other side and rebuild not just our business but our whole community.”
For Rotorua tourism operator Takura Mutu, he says the Government’s $400 million won’t be enough to save the tourism industry but instead will allow businesses to plan for the future in the months to come.
Mr Mutu and his brother own a series of tourism businesses in the city, including Mountain Bike Rotorua which has lost a quarter of its revenue to coronavirus.
“The realistic side is that 75 per cent of our revenue was from international tourists and another 10 per cent of that was from domestic events like corporate incentives and sports events.”
He thinks that the tourism industry is needing to be “realistic” when it comes to the future post Covid-19 with no clear time frame as to when the industry will return to normal.
“It’s not enough. I mean it’s simple, $17 billion is what we’d get from an international market and we’ve been given a $400 million lifeline.”
SHARE ME