Rotorua English Language Academy is open again after a long closure due to covid.
An English language academy is set to re-open after Covid collapsed the business and took $2.5 to $3 million of income with it.
However, the Rotorua English Language Academy is one of the lucky ones as figures from the industry association, English New Zealand, show membership has dropped from 22to 17 schools. The English Language sector pumped $738m into the economy prior to the pandemic.
Academy owner Chris Leckie said she was ''beyond'' excited to re-open on Monday after a turbulent few years which involved staff layoffs and watching its roll fall from up to 600 students a year - to none.
She had to sell the academy's former premises after government funding ran out ''to save the school and the business'' which was established in 1993.
''Rotorua lost the input and life that international students had brought to the city for so long. Our activities providers, about 20 local businesses, as well as food businesses, lost significant income from our students.''
Big decisions were consequently made to ''salvage what we could''. She said the business income loss because of Covid was $2.5 to $3m.
''At first, it was so hard to believe that Covid could change all our lives so fast. It was a very stressful period for our staff who had to deal with months of uncertainty and had to find ways to maintain their livelihoods.''
''The uncertainty was also very hard for prospective students, some of whom have been waiting for two years to be able to enrol with us.''
It officially went into hibernation on July 26 last year but battled on for 18 months before that with a small number of local migrant students.
She said it had ''no choice'' when it came to closing the doors and ''a number of schools like ours have closed permanently''.
''To save the business, we needed to maintain our NZQA registration, our accreditations, compliance levels and some of our staff. NZQA offered hibernation to enable us to do that.''
Leckie said she hoped the academy would grow again from small beginnings.
Rotorua English Language Academy owner Chris Leckie. Photo / Supplied
''We have planned the opening for a long time, and we believe the time is right. The world is opening up, people are travelling again, and Rotorua is regaining its mana.''
Japan was the first market to come back strongly and next week students from China, Tahiti and Taiwan would arrive.
There were also enrolments from New Caledonia, Chile, Germany, Colombia, Spain, Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia. Their South American recruiter had just returned from promoting in Colombia and Chile, which were strong markets pre-Covid, and Leckie expected those to rebound strongly.
''We love what we do, and we love seeing our students thrive and have life-changing experiences in New Zealand. We know our students contribute a significant amount to Rotorua's economy and cultural life.''
''We have great confidence in Rotorua, and we want to join the push to restore the city's attractiveness, vibrancy and reputation.''
English New Zealand said the border closure had a significant impact on all providers and some chose hibernation.
It said, in a written statement, prior to Covid that combined enrolment numbers for English New Zealand schools was 20,000 students a year, which dropped to about 4400 [including offshore online delivery] in 2021.
In 2019 Education New Zealand estimated the value of the English Language sector was $738m and the 2021 financial figures are yet to be released but in the Bay of Plenty there was a 98 per cent drop in student numbers from 2019 to 2021.
English New Zealand chairman Darren Conway said the Rotorua English Language Academy reopening was great news.
''They're a well-respected, high-quality provider in a very popular tourism destination. Their history and expertise will help them navigate the challenges ahead and the students they attract will contribute significantly both financially and culturally to the region.''
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell said it was great to see the return of international students who were choosing Rotorua as their destination of choice.
''We have a great lifestyle and community and welcome them here. I'm glad to see institutes such as the Rotorua English Language Academy able to return to their core business, we hope to see much more of this as we begin to recover from the pandemic.''
She knew many other businesses would also be excited as international students bought a wealth of experience, skills and diversity to the city.
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said it was awesome news as the last few years had been a lot harder than people realised.
''There has been well-intentioned talk about pivoting and building back ... to see that turning into reality is fantastic.''
• The Rotorua English Language Academy is now located in the Hinemoa Tower on Hinemoa St.
