Hawke’s Bay Airport: Why a council decision could reduce the number of flights in and out of Napier - Wendie Harvey

OPINION

Business and leisure travellers could find it tougher to connect by air to the rest of New Zealand and overseas destinations if Hawke’s Bay Regional Council goes ahead with a proposed cut to funding for Hawke’s Bay Tourism.

At Hawke’s Bay Airport we know just how much international and domestic visitors contribute to our regional economy, and what happens when people stop visiting, as we experienced during the Covid years.

While passenger numbers are improving again, they are still to return to pre-pandemic levels. Any actions that impact passenger numbers, would make that recovery even harder.

That’s why Hawke’s Bay Airport is deeply concerned at proposals to cut funding for visitor attractions in Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s three year plan 2024-2027, currently out for consultation.

Hawke’s Bay Tourism has been instrumental in building profile and getting people to visit and spend.

But our visitor economy is a fragile and interdependent economic ecosystem.

A domestic flight lands at Hawke's Bay Airport, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

Without Hawke’s Bay Tourism’s expert efforts, it is inevitable that visitor numbers will dry up, with a ripple effect through our regional economy impacting businesses and jobs.

As an airport, the majority of our revenue comes from passenger volumes, and associated passenger landing charges. This means we rely heavily on demand for air services into and out of Hawke’s Bay, and in turn, we are highly dependent on the activities of Hawke’s Bay Tourism to attract domestic and international visitors, many of whom arrive by air.

Also of huge concern is the flow-on effect leading to reduced air connectivity between Hawke’s Bay and other regions.

If fewer international and domestic holidaymakers are visiting, there will be less passenger service capacity required, leading to fewer commercial passenger flights.

This means that connectivity between Hawke’s Bay and other regional destinations could become unviable for Air New Zealand.

Likewise, the potential to attract new airlines will dry up completely. Without demand, the supply will not materialise.

Quite simply, any reduction in demand that adversely impacts on the financial viability of a service can, and often does result in the removal of that service.

Hawke's Bay Airport chairwoman Wendie Harvey.

Vital connections between Hawke’s Bay and the rest of NZ could be lost.

This should be of significant concern to everyone across our regional economy, especially those sectors reliant on being able to connect easily with domestic and off-shore markets.

To date, tourism and the visitor economy has served Hawke’s Bay well, but it will cease to be a jewel in our regional economic crown if the funding tap for visitor attraction is turned off.

We strongly encourage anyone with an interest in seeing our Hawke’s Bay economy thrive to make a submission to the regional council strongly against their preferred option, and in favour of “Option B” funding for Hawke’s Bay Tourism.

Wendie Harvey is the chairwoman of Hawke’s Bay Airport.