February 03, 2022
Māori Tourism particularly hard hit by Covid.
The chair of Māori Tourism has a gloomy outlook for the sector.
Dale Stephens says while there are the ongoing problems of the loss of international visitors, domestic tourism is also shaky as people don’t want to move too far from home.
That particularly affects Māori tourism.
“They are in the main smaller husband and wife entities, whānau entities that are providing unique and quite personalised tourism opportunities so they are not getting the people through the door and it is a real struggle,” Mr Stevens says.
New Zealand Māori Tourism has contacted all the Maori operators on its books, and it has provided hardship support for some or helped them put their businesses into hibernation.