The Barrio Brothers owner Josh Fitzgerald. Photo / File
Tauranga's hospitality and visitor sector leaders say they are looking forward to seeing Aucklanders again but want to make sure they stick to the rules so there's not another Covid-19 outbreak.
Within hours of Auckland moving to alert level 2.5 yesterday,crowds of people started swarming into the city's airport ready to make their escape after being in lockdown since August 12.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Aucklanders should not visit aged care homes in any part of the country and shouldn't be attending mass gatherings in other cities or regions.
She said this wouldn't be enforced but she appealed to people's "common sense" and said there would be an element of trust.
The Barrio Brothers owner Josh Fitzgerald said the "foot can't go off the gas" and everyone needed to take safety precautions seriously.
"As long as we do that, I've got no problem with them coming back. It's New Zealand's biggest city and we can't keep them in lockdown forever. We didn't get the tailing off of the confirmed cases that we wanted (before Auckland went to alert level 2.5) but it's the most sensible option."
He was looking forward to a boom in visitors.
"New Zealand's the best place to be in the world and we are the best place to be in New Zealand. We have so much growth here and we aren't so heavily reliant on international tourists like they are in Rotorua."
Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne said the health and safety of visitors and the community was paramount for tourism operators and they were doing everything they could to adapt to the requirements.
"We know that the region's tourism operators are doing everything that they can to adapt to the Government requirements to ensure the safety of their visitors and staff."
She said Aucklanders' ability to travel to the Bay of Plenty was significant as it contributed $201 million to the local economy in the year ending June, according to data provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The Coastal Bay of Plenty's total visitor economy was worth $1.02 billion in the year ending June. Auckland visitors contribute about 20 per cent to the region's total visitor economy and are the Coastal Bay of Plenty's second-largest visitor market behind Waikato.
"We hope that the Government's swift action will mean that domestic tourism can safely kickstart with Kiwis exploring their backyard once again. We know that the region's tourism industry warmly welcomes Auckland visitors."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said it was a positive sign going into the warmer months.
"Aucklanders make up a big part of our visitor economy. Kiwis unable to travel overseas will be flocking to coastal regions like the Bay of Plenty this summer. Domestic tourists will be important to make up for no international cruise ship passengers this season."
Cowley said Tauranga retailers, hospitality, accommodation and tourism operators were counting on a busy summer season to replenish their cash reserves to get through a tough winter next year.
Mount Classic Tours and Hinterland Tours owner Ian Holroyd said the sector needed Aucklanders.
"We need to get things going in tourism so happy to see Aucklanders travelling as long as the rules are kept to."
BOP Event Hire owner John Culpitt said his business couldn't function unless it was in alert level 1 as they mainly catered for events for more than 500 people.
"The announcement in August was like going back into level 4 lockdown for us. We've got a big event next weekend we are waiting on to hear if it'll go ahead but it won't unless we are in level 1."
He said we had to trust the authorities were making the right decisions and it was safe to open up Auckland again - something which he said the economy needed.
Hospitality New Zealand Accommodation Sector Bay of Plenty chairman and 850 Cameron Motel owner Tony Bullot said it was quieter than it was in level 1 at the moment, but last-minute "pick-ups" usually changed that.
"That's the problem, for a lot of businesses is it will slow them down because businesses won't spend money that they're not confident they have."
He said the prospect of summer around the corner could change things for the domestic market, but again, the uncertainty made it hard to punt on. Plus with limited events on, Bullot believed that too would impact on weekend travel.
"It's not that we don't want to see them, I think people are maybe waiting a little bit to see what's going to happen."
Waimarino Adventure Park owner Blair Anderson said it had been so quiet and with Aucklanders locked down it was even quieter.
"Now they are allowed out, it will be interesting to see if it picks up. We are employing eight full-time equivalent people with our kayaking tours, school holiday programme and after school care sides of the business but we are now preparing for summer and starting to re-employ people hoping to get back to the 43 staff we had before."
Hospitality NZ Bay of Plenty manager Alan Sciascia said more Aucklanders might come to the region but we could also lose some locals to Auckland.
Sciascia said it was possible some Auckland groups would relocate their functions in outer regions as the city would still have restrictions of groups of 10 while the rest of the country could have up to 100.
However, generally speaking, he was not concerned with Aucklanders visiting the region as at this stage "the current cluster seems to be contained".
Alert level 2 had been difficult, especially for accommodation businesses and those which rely on their customers being able to socialise, he said.
"We do expect that businesses will fail and jobs will be lost if these restrictions continue."
He founded Kiwi Can in Ōpōtiki and Tauranga, reaching over 3700 youth weekly.