Queen's Birthday Weekend: Tauranga businesses unsure public holiday trade worthwhile

One of the biggest issues facing Tauranga businesses ahead of the long weekend is whether it is viable to open on Monday. Photo / Getty Images

The extra costs of public holiday trade are putting some Tauranga businesses off opening this weekend.

Traditionally, long weekends are a busy time for Tauranga businesses but post Covid-19 lockdown some are unsure it will be worth it.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said many retailers and the hospitality sector were excited to be serving customers again but it was still a stressful time for many.

Some are unsure it would be viable to open for trade on Monday and others would be focused on trying to survive beyond the wage subsidy, he said.

Cowley said the biggest issues facing Tauranga business owners ahead of this weekend was paying their staff public holiday pay rates and whether tourists and locals would support local businesses.

"Some businesses would be carefully considering whether it's worthwhile opening on public holiday and paying staff time-and-a-half," Cowley said.

"Many businesses are merely hoping to break even while operating under level 2 restrictions. Hopefully, this weekend gives businesses a chance to strategise their approach for surviving the next few months.

"Most other business owners will be using the weekend to strategise their forecasts for the next few months once the wage subsidy finishes for many businesses."

However, he said people would be looking for something to do this weekend after a stressful and uncertain past few months and believes Queen's Birthday Weekend provides a great opportunity for people in neighbouring regions to visit.

According to the MetService, this weekend looks set to be a wet one for Tauranga, with rainfall forecast from today until Monday, and temperatures between 11C and 18C.

"There are plenty of fun things to do around the city, despite inclement weather. I recommend people book ahead and understand what is required of them when they arrive at the venue."

Hospitality New Zealand accommodation sector Bay of Plenty chairman and the owner of 850 Cameron Motel Tony Bullot is not expecting a busy long weekend.

He said although domestic tourists were calling, "everybody's got rooms".

Since the lockdown, most of his customers have been corporate bookings during the week, he said. The weekends were yet to pick up, he said.

Bay of Plenty Tourism's head of destination marketing, Kath Low, said "many operators regard Queen's Birthday Weekend as the last hurrah for domestic tourism", before Labour Day on October 26.

She's urging people to get out and explore their own backyard and support local tourism where they can.

"What better time than when we can't share Aotearoa with international manuhiri [visitors] for a while?"