The Government risks losing an important source of income if it does not protect tourism businesses during the fallout from Covid-19, the owner of a Queenstown tourism business has warned.
KJet owner Shaun Kelly said the Government had prioritised the wrong industry when it gave $1.2billion to KiwiRail and 400 million to tourism in the budget, despite the latter accounting for a significant portion of the country’s GDP.
In 2019, according to the Ministry of Innovation, Business and Employment, tourism generated 9.8% of GDP.
Tourism minister Kelvin Davis admitted in a webinar hosted by Tourism Industry Aotearoa yesterday the reality was some businesses "will struggle".
He was asked what support would be available for businesses that relied almost entirely on international tourism, once the extended wage subsidy expired in September.
In response the minister said it was unknown how long the borders would remain closed and the Government could not tie workers to jobs that may no longer exist or "pay people to exist" for the next two years.
However, he said the Government would seek to support strategic assets, such as whale watching in Kaikoura, where the town relied on people coming to the area for that specific reason.
Mr Kelly said although there may not be a specific operator that fitted the bill in Queenstown, the resort was the "jewel in the crown" and the whole region benefited from it being globally known as the adventure capital.
He said if operators and infrastructure were to disappear, fewer tourists would return to New Zealand in the future.
When asked to set out a timetable for a transtasman bubble, the minister refused, as did the prime minister later in the day.
Mr Davis said any such timeline would be "just speculation at this moment" and that a lot needed to happen both sides of the sea.
Visitors could already be seen in Queenstown yesterday, as Kjet took out families and friends on its boats.
A couple from Geraldine and their grandchildren from Dunedin enjoyed the ride across Lake Wakatipu.
Husband and wife Jeff and Paulette Richardson, were on a "well-earned" break, having worked throughout lockdown.
"We thought we would take some time off work and support the locals."
Mr Kelly said although a few seasonal workers had been let go, the majority of staff had been kept on and were sharing the hours out.
"I am really proud of our crew for looking after each other."
