Covid 19 coronavirus: Deeply concerned Jacinda Ardern calls EU s vaccine export move wrong
31 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM
5 minutes to read
Dr Ashley Bloomfield. New Zealand received welcome news after Australia decided not to extend its quarantine-free flight suspension. Photo / Mark Mitchell
New Zealand received welcome news on Sunday after Australia decided not to extend its quarantine-free flight suspension and the Ministry of Health reporting another day of no new Covid-19 cases in the community.
However, it s not all good news with health authorities now worried new European Union rules on vaccine exports could mean there are not as many doses available in New Zealand.
Tourists at Fox Glacier (file pic).
Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari / 123RF
The industry has previously said it cannot fill a multi-billion dollar hole left while borders remain closed.
Wings and Water Te Anau operations manager and co-owner Ivan Krippner said his insurance alone had gone up dramatically.
It previously cost about $7000 to insure their float plane - flying or not, he said. Last year the insurance company said we re sorry about this but we re having to increase your insurance to $17,000 a year whether you fly the aircraft or not . This year they ve come back and said it was $32,000 a year to insure your aircraft, flying or not.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Struggling tourism industry hit with rising compliance costs
30 Jan, 2021 08:03 PM
3 minutes to read
RNZ
Tourism operators say they are facing increasing compliance costs as they struggle to keep their heads above water with no international visitors.
The industry has previously said it cannot fill a multi-billion dollar hole left while borders remain closed.
Wings and Water Te Anau operations manager and co-owner Ivan Krippner said his insurance alone had gone up dramatically.
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It previously cost about $7000 to insure their float plane - flying or not, he said. Last year the insurance company said we re sorry about this but we re having to increase your insurance to $17,000 a year whether you fly the aircraft or not . This year they ve come back and said it was $32,000 a year to insure your aircraft, flying or not.
Te Anau is suffering from a lack of tourists. Glacier Valley Eco Tours owner Tash Goodwin said visitor numbers were down by more than 95 per cent, making the update on the border all the more disappointing. “For our business, we re not sure what that means at this stage. We haven t made a call. It could mean that we hibernate, close the business down, start up again another time. We re not sure – it just depends,” Goodwin said. Her business – and the whole of Franz Josef – was in limbo waiting for overseas visitors to return, she said. “We definitely need a date and a really secure date of when the borders will reopen to Australia at least.
Regional tourist operators are grappling with another year of uncertainty with some questioning whether their businesses will survive.
Visitor numbers to Franz Josef are down by more than 95 percent, one business owner says (file image).
Photo: 123RF
With the vaccine rollout expected to take a year, and the prime minister saying the trans-Tasman bubble is looking more difficult, the return of international tourists appears a long way off.
The bad news just keeps coming for tourism operators up and down the country.
Glacier Valley Eco Tours owner Tash Goodwin said visitor numbers were down by more than 95 percent, making the update on the border all the more disappointing.