Coronavirus fallout hits Bay of Plenty businesses

Bay Explorer owner Brandon Stone. Photo / George Novak

Tourism operators are feeling the pinch coronavirus is causing with some seeing a decline in customers and increase in cancellations. Exporters are also feeling the effects.

Dolphin and wildlife cruise company Bay Explorer owner-operator Brandon Stone said there had been a decline in customers due to disruptions to plane flights.

While Asian visitors did not make up a large portion of his customers, Stone said a number had cancelled tours due to a connecting flight through Asia being cancelled or changed.

The business had also been hit with the slowdown of cruise ship passengers.

Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns. Photo / File

Stone said it was a matter of waiting until the disruption blew over. In the meantime, the business had put out special deals targeting domestic tourists.

"It's great to see more people coming out to enjoy their big back garden," he said.

The comments come after a huge cruise ship docked in the Port of Tauranga after being diverted from Vanuatu.

The owner of Tauranga tourism business Zealandia Tours of New Zealand said she had also had a number of cancellations, including "quite a few from America in the past four to five days".

"You just have to accept it and respect people's decision."

Dolphin Seafaris New Zealand owner Cille Fabert said only two people from China had cancelled so far but she had received queries about how confined the boat's seating area was.

Yesterday at 6.45am the Voyager of the Seas cruise ship, which has a maximum capacity of 4369 passengers and crew, docked in the Port of Tauranga after being diverted from Vanuatu due to the virus.

Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne said assurance had been sought from the Ministry of Health before the arrival of the cruise ship.

"Both Toi Te Ora Public Health Unit and the Ministry of Health have determined that there is no risk of Covid-19 [coronavirus] on board the vessel."

In a written statement a Ministry of Health spokesperson said, "We are aware that there are seven people on board the cruise ship, Voyager of the Seas, due to dock in Tauranga tomorrow that are ill with typical influenza or gastroenteritis".

The people were being managed appropriately and their current assessment was there was no risk of Covid-19, they said.

Voyager of the Seas pictured docking at Mt Maunganui yesterday morning. Photo / Alan Gibson

Dunne said there were strict measures in place to mitigate the risk of the illness spreading. The majority of more than 270 cruise ships globally continue to sail unaffected, including within New Zealand – but with strict precautions in place.

No cruise ships had travelled directly from China to New Zealand and cruise liners were denying boarding to anyone who may present an increased risk.

Voyager of the Seas passenger Georgie Montgomery, who was visiting from Victoria with her partner and four children, said she was "really sad" about the change in route as the trip was supposed to be a tropical getaway.

"It's not that we don't like New Zealand or don't want to come here. We've already been here, but it's not what we paid for."

She said the change in route had caused the cancellation of a wedding and some people were "so aggressive" they were removed from the ship.

Some passengers did not wish to continue with the altered route and decided to get off the ship and fly home at Noumea, while others flew home from New Zealand yesterday.

Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne. Photo / File

She said about half of the passengers were relaxed about the change in route and the other half were upset.

"It ranges from people who are angry to people who are like, 'It is what it is. There's nothing we can do'."

Fellow passengers Catherine Mann and Mitchell Hooper, from Broken Hill in Australia, were travelling with their son and left the ship in Tauranga yesterday morning.

"Most people are pretty chill, things aren't too disrupted ... but the ship crew are always disinfecting stuff and surfaces."

Zespri head of communications and external relations Michael Fox said there were positive signs in China with people returning to work but the impact of coronavirus would be monitored.

There was severe congestion at the main container terminals but Fox said the key terminal used by the company for discharging early-season charter ship arrivals was operating normally.

Comvita chief executive David Banfield said sales had been impacted in the short term by a "dramatically reduced footfall" as a result of travel bans, while there was strong demand for immune-boosting propolis and manuka honey products.

A University of Waikato spokesperson said out of the 800 new and returning Chinese students, only three had chosen to study in Tauranga and the university was working with those affected to provide online learning options.

Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said the virus was having an impact as profits were down, with log exports being hardest hit - down 8.4 per cent to 3.4 million tonnes.

"But we're still loading logs for export and we're continuing to watch the situation closely," he said.

Cairns said the trade outlook for the second half of 2020 remained uncertain but this would become clearer during the next month.

Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty provincial president Darryl Jensen said it was too soon to determine what effect coronavirus would have on farmers, as there would be a time lag on the impact of product prices.

Ministry of Social Development group general manager for client service delivery Kay Read said as of yesterday, 29 hardship grants related to the virus had been paid and two of these were to Bay of Plenty people.

Read said people were encouraged to get in touch to discuss their situation and what help was available to them.

Supermarket frenzy

After the first known case of coronavirus was confirmed in Auckland on Friday, supermarkets reported a noticeable increase in shoppers, with some items - such as toilet paper and bottled water - quickly selling out.

A Bay of Plenty Times reporter who visited Pak 'n Save Cameron Rd over the weekend said Tauranga shoppers had followed suit, with several shelves of toilet paper emptied of stock.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said there was a significant increase in sales of household essentials such as toilet paper, bread and milk.

"These products are made or manufactured in New Zealand and are not under threat and shoppers should look to shop for these items as they normally would," the spokesperson said.

Countdown did not want to comment.

Additional reporting - Sandra Conchie and Esme O'Rafferty