Opinion: Will $2.4m be enough to help keep local tourism alive?

Te Puia, New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner

COMMENT:

The tourism sector is doing it tough.

Covid-19 and the necessary border closures have decimated our international tourism numbers.

Hence, businesses are encouraging us to spend local, go local, support local, buy local.

It's what needs to happen to make sure tourism gets out the other side of the pandemic as intact as possible.

However, it may not be possible to save everyone, despite the millions handed out from the Government, including a share in the $400 million Tourism Sector Recovery Plan announced in the Government's Budget this year.

It has been revealed this week that Bay of Plenty tourism organisations are being dealt another $2.4m. With $1m going to Rotorua, $700,000 to Tauranga and $700,000 to Taupō.

But some have argued this is a mere drop in the bucket of what's needed to support the sector and there is no silver bullet here.

There's a degree of pessimism among some tourism operators and we can't blame them. It must be a daunting wait to find out if your business will survive long enough for the borders to be reopened.

And that's unlikely to happen any time in the near future considering the state of the world outside New Zealand.

Waimarino Adventure Park owner Blair Anderson, in Tauranga, said this week by the time the borders reopened, he suspected the industry would be 15 years behind where it was pre-Covid, but hoped he would be proven wrong about the lack of optimism towards the funding.

While the recent school holidays helped bolster the industry, and it was fantastic to see hotels, motels, restaurants and bars at capacity, it is clear that the industry faces a do-or-die reality.

In Rotorua, businesses are sounding more optimistic, with one operator saying he is thrilled with the cash boost and has every faith Destination Rotorua will spend it wisely.

We see these operators putting on a brave face.

It's that sense of stoicism that has to be admired, and we as locals need to support that.

Now more than ever, it's vital we keep encouraging people to stay and play in our own backyards.

Let's hope summer brings good news for our region.