Two-vax call to protect traditional Kiwi camping holidays
Parks management pushes for timely intro of vax certificates
Holiday Parks New Zealand is encouraging all guests planning a break at a holiday park this summer to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The call comes from chief executive, Fergus Brown who said the best way to remove any worries is for holiday park guests, many of who have already made bookings, to go ahead and get vaccinated.
And if they haven’t already done so, now is the time to go and get it the jabs so they can fully enjoy their summer break.
The traditional Kiwi camping holiday is big business with more than 611,000 New Zealanders recording 1.8 million guest nights in January this year, earning an estimated $612 million.
In the year ended July 2021 holiday parks hosted 8.6 million guest nights, nearly all of which were domestic guests, 100,000 more than in the year ending July 2019.
Mr Brown said the parks will be doing their best to provide safe holiday destinations for guests and safe working environments for park staff.
While vaccinations are not mandatory for accommodation providers at this stage, parks are supporting their teams to be vaccinated and working through the risk assessment process to determine how they can best operate safely to protect the health of both staff and guests.
With only a few weeks until the influx of holidaymakers begins, parks want vaccination certificates to be introduced as soon as possible so they can finalise park procedures and training before the season hits its peak.
With no prospect of being able to host international manuhiri (visitors) who provided 35 percent of guests pre-COVID, holiday parks are relying on the traditional busy domestic holiday season to support them until New Zealand’s borders reopen.
“The importance of a busy January to supporting our jobs and businesses can’t be overstated,” Mr Brown said.
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
