A one-day extension to the grace period for flights out of Queenstown appears to be a saving grace for most travellers in the region.
However, a gloomy few weeks lie ahead for the Queenstown Lakes’ tourism-reliant economy, and accommodation providers are expecting to be nearly empty by tonight.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday afternoon that flights from Queenstown and Cook Strait ferry sailings had been extended for 24 hours for people needing to return home.
Queenstown Airport Corporation managing director Simon Flood said demand for flights had exceeded availability during the initial 48-hour window, and he hoped the extra time would allow everyone wanting to get home to do so.
However, at least one family is unfazed by the prospect of an extended stay in the region.
Mount Maunganui couple Andrew and Katie Dawson and their children Clementine and Primrose were relaxing at the Wanaka lakefront yesterday when spoken to by the Otago Daily Times.
Mrs Dawson said they did not expect to be able to bring forward their return flight, booked for Monday, any earlier.
However, they were staying in her parents-in-law’s home in the township, and both she and her husband could work remotely.
"We’re not the ones that are really impacted."
Mr Dawson said there "could be worse places" than Wanaka to be stranded.
The Rees Hotel manager Mark Rose said some guests had expressed an intention to sit out the lockdown in Queenstown in the expectation it would be lifted by the weekend.
However, the hotel had "told everybody they needed to go" or risk being stranded in the resort for weeks.
Guest numbers had fallen from 100 on Tuesday night to 14 last night, and the few he expected to stay on after today would have to be completely self-sufficient as the hotel cut its services.
Mr Rose said the lockdown was "catastrophic" for his business.
"But to be positive about this, [the Government] has moved quickly, and if we can keep it out of the South Island, I think we’ve got a chance to go back to a normal life."
However, Auckland was the resort’s main source of visitors, and he doubted they would come back in significant numbers, even after the alert level was reduced to 2.
"I think we’re going to have a pretty lean few months."
Carlyn Topp, who manages Highview Apartments Queenstown and the Marina Terrace Apartments in Wanaka, said only a few "high-end" guests had decided to stay on after today.
Most had been "stressing and trying to get home any way they can".
Some had driven north to catch the Cook Strait ferry, while others had been able to get flights out of the resort because of the extended grace period, Ms Topp said.
New Zealand Rent a Car Queenstown co-owner Jo Weaver said the business had been "inundated" by demand since the lockdown announcement on Tuesday, especially by people wanting to drive to Dunedin or Christchurch.
