The organisers of Gay Ski Week New Zealand said they have had to shelve plans for the inaugural Summer Camp NZ in Queenstown this month because the number of bookings was insufficient to viably and properly run the week's activities.
GayQueenstown.com event director Mike Sanford, of Sydney (and formerly of Queenstown for 10 years), said the proposed event, from January 10 to 18, would have featured a welcoming party, barbecues and a ticketed pool party to mark the end of the week, plus other activities.
However, the economic climate and short promotional lead time of three months had forced them to cancel Summer Camp and offer refunds to those who had booked.
The response indicated there would be a small group who intended to enjoy the resortnext week in any case.
Mr Sanford said the 2009 Gay Ski Week was proving especially popular by comparison and he was focusing attention on that.
Bookings were open earlier than in the past seven years of the event to target the United States market and 80 Queenstown hotel room nights were already booked for the August 29 to September 6 holiday.
Mr Sanford said about 600 revellers, including 260 Australians, attended the 2008 Gay Ski Week and they had each participated in three or four activities while in town.
"We think we can generate more traffic from Australia and New Zealand and grow the American market. It's a cheap holiday for them," he said.
GayQueenstown.com was also looking at organising small getaway breaks to tie-in with existing resort events, such as the annual ASB JazzFest in October.
