Other regions that are distant from SH1, like Coromandel, Wairarapa, Tairawhiti, and Taranaki have also seen increases in domestic visitor spend as Kiwis get inspired by the #DoSomethingNewNZ marketing effort from government agency Tourism NZ.
However, we know it cannot replace the international visitor numbers. Nationally, overall tourism spend in January was down by 11 per cent compared to January 2020, as a result of the absence of international visitors.
Before our borders were closed, domestic tourism accounted for 60 per cent of our tourism spend. Kiwis also spent $9 billion a year on overseas travel so we are working hard to persuade them to spend some of that on domestic travel.
It's up to all of us to do what we can to support our local tourism industry.
This week I travelled to some of our hardest-hit tourism regions in the deep south. Fiordland, Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago are very reliant on international tourism and the global pandemic is hitting them hard.
I used a major tourism conference to outline details of the planning that is under way for a new-look tourism sector, post the Covid-19 vaccination programme and when international borders reopen.
The $400m Tourism Recovery Package in 2020 was an emergency intervention. Further, structural support will be needed in 2021, before we make changes to prepare for a new landscape in 2022 and beyond.
The 2020 Package, and wider tourism support like $1.8 billion in wage subsidies, $300m in interest-free loans, and government-funded vouchers for free business advice or training, have helped tourism operators adapt to domestic markets or look for alternatives.
I have been upfront that mass-scale international tourism is unlikely before 2022, but we are working hard to open a transtasman bubble in 2021. We are on track to vaccinate the majority of Kiwis against Covid-19 by the end of this year.
Further support for tourism in 2021 requires a more structural approach for those who need it most. I am considering potential next steps until borders reopen, such as making it easier to hibernate firms so they can start up again; help to diversify regional economies over-reliant on international tourism; and deployment of tourism workers to other sectors.
The long-term picture for tourism once borders reopen requires more fundamental change. Consistent advice from within the sector, from small communities, and from external agencies like the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment demonstrate we cannot go back to the tourism model that existed prior to Covid-19.
Even within tourism hotspots like Queenstown, as many as 79 per cent of residents felt there was too much pressure from international visitors. In essence, tourism was beginning to lose its social licence to operate and we were running the very real risk of not being able to deliver on our global value proposition behind 'Brand NZ'.
We have a responsibility to take an intergenerational view of the role of tourism. I am looking to change the rules around freedom camping, which isn't free at all for taxpayers or ratepayers who have to pick up the tab.
I want to take another look at pricing strategies across public assets like national parks, so that the heavy pressure of international visitors is more financially sustainable.
We cannot expect to return to 'business as usual' when our borders do reopen.
Stuart Nash is MP for Napier.
