Queenstown busy with local tourists, lacking in Australian visitors

The transtasman bubble may be alive and kicking but it's yet to put any real dent in a struggling tourist economy.

Queenstown is enjoying a flood of much-needed school holiday visitors this week, after a challenging year from Covid-19.

However, Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ruth Stokes said there are still very few Australian accents in town.

"I think the majority of Australians who have returned are either expats or visiting family and friends."

But she said things are looking up - with plenty of ski season bookings coming in from across the ditch.

"We have huge demand for the ski season so we are certainly looking forward to a bumper July and August."

Stokes said up until July, Australian numbers are looking to be a bit of a slow burn.

"After that, certainly, the numbers are looking very promising. Generally, Australians tend to book package holidays rather than organising too much in advance."

But it is not all doom and gloom for tourism in the city after a successful long weekend.

"The long weekend was fantastic. Everywhere was heaving. There were lots of people on the streets, it was a really good vibe.

"People are feeling positive and things are moving in the right direction."

Stokes said the accommodation spend in the city last week was up 5500 per cent on the same time last year.