Pleas to provide urgent help for NZ hospitality sector
Although this week’s announcement that the Wage Subsidy had been extended was welcomed, many in the Accom sector were disappointed that the relief did not go far enough. The government has been criticized for failing to recognise what a dire state the hospitality and accom sector is in because of COVID-19.
Industry association Hospitality New Zealand says that while Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, did make reference to the hospitality and retail sectors being the most likely to be impacted by Level 3 and Level 2 restrictions, no targeted support or additional funding was released from its $14 billion COVID-19 Response and Recovery relief fund.
The announcement was disappointing as it fails to recognise how critically the hospitality sector has been affected.
Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive, Julie White says, “The Government needs to do more than this. In our sector, Level 3 is the equivalent of closing down for many operators and sadly, we will lose several of our small businesses. The scheme in its current form is too narrow and doesn’t account for the cost of shutting down operations or pivoting to ensure they can explore ancillary revenue streams.
“We support the actions of the Government to stop the spread, but this will significantly impact the path many were on towards finding a ‘new normal.’ We appreciate that access to the Wage Subsidy has been nationwide, as it does address some of the knock-on effects of locking down our most populous city.
“We had just seen a glimmer of hope and we’re finding our feet again, but the impact of this second wave has been detrimental to some. Particularly operators within the accommodation sector, where millions of dollars were lost within hours of Auckland going into Level 3.”
Data released by Statistics NZ earlier this month showed optimism returning to the sector, as retail card spending within hospitality hit the strongest level for a July month since data was recorded – up 5.9 percent to $62 million at the same time last year.
We need targeted sector support urgently. The hospitality industry is one of the main cogs in the economic engine room supporting New Zealand. It circulates dollars quickly, keeps people in employment and provides places to connect and assists with Kiwis’ wellbeing and social interactions,” concludes White.
Following the latest restrictions most Accoms throughout the country have been seeing cancellations, just as they were beginning to get on their feet throughout the months of June and July. Now mass cancellations for August and September, particularly in and around Auckland have inflicted even more devastation upon an industry struggling to survive.
David Ovendale cEO of Top Ten holiday parks told us: “We have been seeing cancellations. Obviously concentrated in our Auckland region parks and particularly in parks that rely on Auckland as their source market. Impacting Northland (5 parks), Coromandel (3 parks), Bay of Plenty (4 parks) and the Central North Island including Ohakune that relies on Auckland for ski and snowboard customers.
“The South Island is less impacted but also seeing cancellations as the alert level change heightens people’s nervousness around travel. Hopefully we will get a handle on it quickly and the confidence and fantastic support we saw from Kiwi customers in June and July will quickly return.”
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