NZONE Skydive and Skydive Wanaka business development manager Derek Melnick said every month that they continued with only domestic tourists it was a decreasing opportunity.
"We are eternally grateful for the Kiwis that have come out and supported us. It has been better than we thought, but every month we continue just domestically it is a downward spiral and we can’t sustain it."
Mr Melnick said since the border closures NZONE Skydive and Skydive Wanaka had had to downsize, drop their prices and cut back on their operations.
It was impossible to plan and there was no certainty, he said.
Mr Melnick said Tourism NZ was doing "all it could" but it was a marketing body and could not change behaviour.
He said the great enabler would be transport.
"I think there needs to be more creative thinking collaboratively with government and Air New Zealand around enabling more air travel to Queenstown.
More "connectivity" and attractively priced airfares between Queenstown and places like Nelson and Rotorua, he said.
"I know that puts pressure on Air New Zealand’s model but, rather than wage subsidies and government handouts, it is something more circular in the economy."
Late Thursday afternoon, with the help of Skydive Wanaka pilot Hamish Brown, Mr Melnick removed an advertising billboard from the Wanaka Base Backpackers in Brownston St.
The backpackers reportedly confirmed in an email to its business contacts 10 days ago that due to unavoidable circumstances, the business was closing on January 31.
The Otago Daily Times approached Wanaka Base Backpackers for a comment but did not receive a response.
Lake Wanaka Tourism acting general manager Tim Barke said many tourist businesses were hurting and "seriously concerned" about their survival.
"We had reasonable numbers [of visitors] in town over Christmas and New Year, with Kiwis spending on lower ticket items and activities.
"Anecdotally, activity operators have found it hard to attract Kiwis for products over $100, which is below the cost of running many of them," Mr Barke said.
Ignite Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Naomi Lindsay said many customer service businesses reported a slightly slower Christmas period than usual, but the situation improved for New Year, and some reported a 20-30% average increase year-on-year across the 10-12 days and on certain days business was up considerably for some.
Future prospects were not looking bright, once the school holidays ended and as long as the borders remained closed.
"There was limited visitor business coming our way in February and March," she said.
