February 09, 2022
Border opening too late for many Māori tourism businesses
The chair of Māori Tourism is hoping for help in this year’s Budget for small Māori tourism and hospitality businesses.
Dale Stevens says he’s keeping the government up to date with the challenges in the sector and the particular problems faced by Māori ventures set up to target international visitors.
Entering the third year of the pandemic, many smaller whānau businesses could fail before tourists are allowed to return.
“Can they last until October? That is a tough question. Some of our companies, some of our whānau will survive but it’s sad to say a number won’t, they won’t get as far because it’s just too far out,” Mr Stevens says.
Increasing petrol prices are also likely to have a chilling effect on domestic tourism.