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Queenstown is facing an economic crisis as a growing number of tourism businesses are forced to close their doors, says Mayor Jim Boult.
Adventure, bar and hotel operators are having to make the difficult call to shut down indefinitely due to a lack of tourists and uncertainty about border closures during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Queenstown’s 220-room Millennium Hotel was one of the largest businesses to close its doors, closing at the end of January, joining the popular Muskets and Moonshine bar around the same time.
On Thursday, Adventure Group Managing Director Stefan Crawford announced that Canyon Explorers would go into hibernation as of February 15 due to the continued drop in visitor numbers and uncertainty regarding a trans-Tasman travel bubble.
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Queenstown-based adventure company Canyon Explorers will halt normal operations from February 15, as the number of visitors has dropped significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Boult said another activity operator and a hospitality business owner emailed him on the same day informing him of their intention to close.
Real Journeys and Go Orange CEO Paul Norris said they were either operating fewer trips or closing early.
Rafting trips on the Kawarau and Shotover rivers, which generally operate year-round, would close at the end of March, he said.
Queenstown attracted more than 1 million international visitors in 2019. Since New Zealand’s borders were closed last March, that has dropped to almost zero.
Boult said that many Queenstown businesses expected a trans-Tasman tourism bubble, but that it seemed increasingly unlikely.
“It’s been 12 months since they stopped doing business effectively, and many companies are simply running out of resources to keep going.”
Queenstown and other resorts had made a great contribution to the country’s economy for many years and now needed the government to help them, he said.
Debbie Jamieson / Stuff
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult with MP Stuart Nash during Nash’s first visit to Queenstown as Tourism Minister in November.
It would continue to push for help even though Tourism Minister Stewart Nash suggested struggling tourism businesses shouldn’t expect more government support unless there is a change in alert levels.
Publisher Chris Buckley said he made the difficult decision to close Muskets and Moonshine, one of his company’s two Queenstown bars, in late January as visitor numbers to Queenstown dwindled.
“On weekends it’s fine and they take you, then we drop it off right away during the week. It’s quite difficult. “
The business had performed well during the peak Christmas period, but it ran the risk of not being able to pay staff and suppliers if it continued to operate now, he said.
Other bar owners tended to be silent about their intentions, “but you can only hold out for so long when the money doesn’t come through the door.”
The Millennium Hotel closed its doors at the end of January.
The company has not responded to requests for comment, but a spokesperson told the Otago Daily Times it was part of a consolidation plan while excluding foreign tourists.
Debbie Jamieson / Stuff
Social distancing in the Coronet Express queue at Coronet Peak during the first day of skiing at Covid alert level 2.
Crawford said the number of domestic visitors had doubled this summer, but the company was still operating at just 10 percent of its pre-Covid levels.
“It’s not enough,” he said.
The company’s revenue only covered the salaries of its seven employees, a decrease of up to 22 employees in a normal year.
Crawford said he felt very depressed at times, but tried to stay positive.
He also operated a winter ski and snowboard rental business, and was eager to do so.
Crawford said he was speaking because he hoped it would help the rest of New Zealand understand the challenges many Queenstown businesses face.
“We have survived with cash reserves since March 2020 and now they are very low.”
Many people believed that Queenstown had been making money for many years and could survive the tough times, he said.
“None of my shareholders have received dividends in seven years. All money goes back to business.
“We are all working hard … no one has made much of this.”
Canyon Explorers would honor existing reserves and groups through Easter, Crawford said.
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It’s unclear when the Queenstown-based adventure company Canyon Explorers will reopen.
