'Pretty lucky': Hawke's Bay's domestic tourism a lockdown lifeline

Hawke's Bay Airport Limited chief executive Stuart Ainslie is celebrating the airport's 'bounce back' from Covid-19 challenges. Photo / Supplied

Domestic travel is proving a lifeline for the region's tourism sector, with
Hawke's Bay Airport returning to profitability 17 months ahead of schedule.

The airport, which released its 20/21 Annual Report on Thursday, was now at 90 per cent of its pre-covid passenger numbers and revenue also exceeding expectations by 45 per cent, with a net profit of $555,315.

Chief executive Stuart Ainslie said due to Covid-19 border restrictions, it could take 18 to 24 months for international travel to return to any sort of normality.

"However, based on what we've seen from business and leisure travellers over the last year, domestic passenger numbers are likely to be back to full strength much sooner than that."

Tākaro Trails considers themselves lucky for the renaissance of cycling and an increase of people wanting to support local businesses. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Rodger Coleman, the owner of Hawke's Bay bike hire and tours operator Tākaro Trails, said the past 18 months of business during Covid had been interesting, but what was more intriguing was the amount of New Zealanders keen to support local businesses.

"We are definitely seeing more domestic tourists than usual but that hasn't made up for the loss of international tourism," he said.

The increase in domestic riders could also be due to what he claims is a recent "renaissance" in cycling.

"It used to be that just hard-out cyclists would be out at it, but with electric bikes now and all the food and wine attractions around the region, we've been able to attract a range of riders.

"There are other people out there whose businesses are really struggling, so we consider ourselves pretty lucky," he said.

Hawke's Bay Tourism chief executive Hamish Saxton said before the recent outbreak of the Delta variant, visitor spend in Hawke's Bay was tracking at its highest levels.

"However, it has to be acknowledged that not all businesses within the visitor economy benefited from this elevated business spend.

"And what's more, this latest outbreak, and the continued lockdown of New Zealand's largest city, is having a prolonged negative impact on the visitor economy in Hawke's Bay," he said.

Nationwide holiday home management firm Bachcare reported early bounce back in domestic travel outside of Auckland, with term-three school holidays seeing popular domestic destinations inundated with bookings.

A Bachcare spokesperson said Hawke's Bay had seen a 17-per cent increase in bookings per property.