Jim Boult said aside from the construction industry returning to work and a few businesses offering takeaway meals, moving out of Level 4 was ‘‘not going to help us’’.
But he was encouraged by the prospect of "some economic regeneration" after a move to Level 2 in the near future.
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Cafes, restaurants and retail stores could then reopen, a limited ski season might be possible, and he wanted to see "strong, proactive work" by Tourism New Zealand and the district’s regional tourism organisations to promote Queenstown and Wanaka to the domestic market.
However, yesterday’s announcement had to be seen in the context of "thousands" of redundancies in the district so far, and many more to follow, he said.
About 6500 people had registered with the council for welfare assistance.
Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chief executive Anna Mickell said the announcement offered scant relief for the vast majority of businesses in the tourist town.
Although the construction industry would be happy to return to work, and a "handful" of takeaway and food delivery businesses would seize the opportunities offered by Level 3, it meant little for tourism operators and other sectors such as accommodation, event management and film production.
"We are expecting as many as 500 more redundancies this week as some of the larger hotels scale back their services in preparation for many months of little to no trade, and the removal of the wage subsidy scheme."
Ms Mickell said the chamber, district council, Salvation Army and Citizens Advice Bureau were lobbying the Government to extend its support to short-term migrants caught in New Zealand as a result of Covid-19.
Registered Master Builders Central Otago branch president Allister Saville said an extra week under Level 4 made sense, as it gave builders more time to "get back up to speed".
That included having materials delivered and setting up building sites with the required signage and cleaning measures.
Building industry discussions with the Government on how it would return to work began immediately after the country went into lockdown, Mr Saville said.
The biggest challenge would be maintaining space between workers, which would inevitably slow work down.
But it was vital the industry worked responsibly and all staff maintained the integrity of their work and home bubbles, he said.
