But there is one place on the planet where there are a lot of tourists right now: Chatham Islands.
Haven’t heard of them? That’s right; You are not alone.
Moving to the top of the list
In a typical year, the Chathams – whose two main populated islands are Chatham Island and Pitt Island – receive about 2,000 tourists. That compares with about 700 full-time residents, most of whom live on Chatham Island, the largest of the archipelago.
But 2020 is not a typical year.
Chathams ’remoteness usually makes it a part of a country that New Zealanders never come to visit. Now, staying away is an advantage, to make travel-hungry Kiwis feel the urge to turn to the islands, as they feel on a different holiday without any quarantine or without any quid testing.
“It happened very quickly,” explains Jackie Gorden, the island’s tourism manager, about the tourism spike in Chatham. “Getting out of here is a little more expensive so you don’t get young people who want a cheap holiday, and not beach resorts or anything.”
But once the epidemic closed international borders, tourism became New Zealand – the country’s official national tourism board – a major route for foreign tourists to promote domestic travel, from marketing their country. It suddenly turns six chats into a hot item, usually filled with sleep.
Demand, however, lags far behind supply. Gorden estimates that the combination of hotels, lodges, guesthouses and local accommodations has 150 beds on the islands that list themselves on sites like RBNB. Most of the property is privately owned and camping is prohibited.
The only aircraft serving the archipelago is Air Chathams, which operates only a few flights per week between Chatham Island and what locals call “Mainland”. (Side note: Most Kiwis mean South Island only when they say “Mainland”, but both North and South Islands fall into this category when they say Chathamites.)
Geologists and archaeologists visit Chathams to study its unusual rock formations.
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Generally, the tourist season is approximately from November to March, which is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. But now, all the residences on the island are solidly booked by June 2021. Gorden, who lives on New Zealand’s North Island, is also not sure if he will be able to find a place to crash on his next visit.
What to do there
In the past, most visitors to Chathams were elderly travelers looking for a quiet place to stay away from it all. Prices can be higher, as more food and fuel has to be shipped from mainland New Zealand.
But once you are able to get there, the beautiful scenery is perfect for the trip.
Pitt Island is believed to be the first population in the world to watch the sun rise every day. Chathams was the eastern sleever of the Gondwanaland supercontinent, meaning it has an interesting range of terrain, including the basalt column la la giants causeway and the volcanic cone.
The islands are also home to some of the world’s rarest birds, plus a vast – and fun – seal colony.
The Little Blue Penguin, the world’s smallest penguin species, can be found here.
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Where do we go from here?
Before she was the island’s tourism manager, Gorden was asked to work on a consulting project for the future of the hospitality industry there – although no one guessed how long some of the initiatives would be tested. Fortunately, some of these projects include the island’s tourism website and official brochure, which soon came into the hands of visitors.
In some ways, the excitement of tourism is a major plus for these islands, where most people work in agriculture or the fishing industry and the absence of high school sends students to Christchurch in their teens.
The islands also received grants from the New Zealand government to help with infrastructure projects such as public toilet facilities and updates at the airport. Even without the epidemic, 2020 was a time to shine for miracles.
“It’s not about driving growth, it’s about managing growth,” Gorden explains. “Tourism needs growth to create employment for young people. Young islanders can really have a future on the island. ”
That said, it warns visitors to respect the delicate ecosystem and the small sensations that make Chathams so special in the first place.
“Tourists on the island resist coming into their space,” he says. “Tourism is coming and going but we made sure there was a way to give back.”
That means tour companies pay Chathmas 25 25 per tourist, using the money to pay for projects that benefit locals, such as the construction of a swimming pool.
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