Visitor numbers to Franz Josef were down 72 percent over the summer period, a DOC study shows.
Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Glacier Country remains one of the hardest hit areas in Aotearoa, with many businesses desperately short of cashflow.
The Department of Conservation s summer 2020/21 visitor insights report revealed visitor numbers to Franz Josef were down 72 percent over the summer period.
Electronic card transaction data from MarketView shows spending in Franz Josef fell by 60 percent for the year to March 2021. While we welcome the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble and Minister [Stuart] Nash s recent announcement of a tourism recovery package, Glacier Country remains one of the hardest hit areas in New Zealand, with many businesses desperately short of cashflow, Development West Coast (DWC) chief executive Heath Milne said.
Glacier Country businesses start to receive lifeline support msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
End of the ice: New Zealand’s vanishing glaciers
Glaciers have drawn people to the west coast for decades. Now the ice is retreating. Is it too late to save them?
When Cliff Goodwin first came to Franz Josef he didn’t know what a glacier was. It was 2001, and Goodwin had been travelling down the length of New Zealand from his hometown Taranaki, doing odd jobs: fruit picking, housekeeping. “I worked until I had $1,000, then I travelled until I had $100,” he says.
Goodwin had been intending to top up his bank account, then go. But soon after arriving in Franz Josef – on the West Coast of the South Island, at the foot of the Southern Alps – he went to see the town’s biggest draw for himself.
Wednesday, 10 March 2021, 7:16 am
National is calling on the Government to open the
trans-Tasman bubble with Australia to give our desperate
tourism sector a much-needed boost and reunite Kiwis with
family and friends across the ditch.
“New Zealand
and Australia have both done well to reduce the threat of
Covid-19,” Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says.
“We should now take the logical next step and get the
travel bubble up-and-running.
“Both countries have a
similar Covid profile and Australia has proven a bubble can
work. They opened their border to Kiwis in October and have
adopted a flexible approach when there have been community
Community Scoop » NZ Can t Wait Any Longer For A Trans-Tasman Bubble scoop.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scoop.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.