The forestry industry could take years to recover, according to experts. Photo / File
The forestry industry could take years to recover, according to experts. Photo / File
Rotorua tourism operators, businesses and forestry owners are reeling from the impact of the coronavirus and one says ''it could take years rather than months to recover''.
Rotorua Tours owner Andrew Nuttall said the business had ''received more cancellations in the last 10 days than the whole of last year''.He attributed the majority of cancellations to coronavirus.
''It's very worrying as we don't know what will happen in the future and how bad things can get ... I'm trying to do my best to keep the business going."
Nuttall said clients cancelled bookings for a variety of reasons but travel bans in some countries and people's perceptions of the risks of travelling Down Under were having a huge impact on current and future bookings.
Most clients were from the United States, he said.
Destination Rotorua chief executive Michelle Templer said the drop in visitor numbers was being felt by operators, with a number of businesses reporting cancellations and postponements over the past few weeks.
Templer said the impact was also being felt by a whole range of businesses connected to the tourism and hospitality sectors such as food suppliers, dry cleaners, retail and service stations.
Tauranga-based tourism business Bay Explorer owner Brandon Stone. Photo / George Novak
Any reduction in visitors was felt strongly in Rotorua, with tourism accounting for 14 per cent of the city's GDP.
Tauranga-based dolphin and wildlife cruise company Bay Explorer owner-operator Brandon Stone said there had been a decline in customers due to disruptions to plane flights.
While Asian visitors did not make up a large portion of his customers, Stone said a number had cancelled tours due to a connecting flight through Asia being cancelled or changed. The business had also been hit with the slowdown of cruise ship passengers.
New Zealand Forest Owners Association president, Peter Weir, said the industry "slow-down" could last for up to five years.
"This is serious . . . it could take years rather than months [to recover]."
There was currently about five months worth of logs on Chinese ports, due to cheap insect-damaged logs from Europe flooding the market and the coronavirus-induced construction downturn.
He said the Rotorua industry would get off lightly compared to other areas, such as Gisborne, due to domestic wood processors still buying logs.
Employees of big businesses were likely to keep their jobs through the downturn, but contractors that harvested woodlots on farmers or investment properties may not be so lucky and could face up to five months without work.
These forest owners had once chance to harvest during their lifetime and so it was likely they would wait to harvest, given that the price was currently "through the floor", he said.
The forestry industry could take years to recover, according to experts. Photo / File
Timberlands chief executive Robert Green said the company was running at a reduced scale with people on reduced hours, but no contractors had been suspended or terminated so far to his knowledge.
About two-thirds of the company's products went to the local market and the company was aiming to maintain this supply chain, he said.
There were many different products from a tree and the domestic market would take what export would not.
Forest Industry Contractors Association chief executive, Prue Younger, said the coming week would be "a real tell-tale" period for the industry.
There was some indication of stocks moving in China and if this happened, it would be three or four months for things to kick back into gear.
"But if it doesn't move in China, we're out for a lot longer."
A survey of contractors showed about 15 per cent of contractors were working as business as usual, while others on reduced hours or schedules.
"A forest contractor probably had six to eight people in their crew and they've all got to go home and feed their families," she said.
Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty provincial president Darryl Jensen said it was too soon to determine what effect coronavirus would have on farmers because there would be a time lag on the impact of product prices.
Ministry of Social Development group general manager for client service delivery, Kay Read, said as of Sunday, 29 hardship grants related to the virus had been paid. Two were to Bay of Plenty People.
Read said people were encouraged to get in touch to discuss their situation and what help was available to them.
Meanwhile, last night the cruise ship Voyager of the Seas departed from Tauranga after it was diverted from Vanuatu. There were seven passengers on-board who had flu-like symptoms but health officials said it was clear of coronavirus.
