ANALYSIS
Tourism has one key message to new minister Peeni Henare: Please listen.
The previous two ministers in the Labour Government had the misfortune of being in office during the depths of a pandemic and struggled to connect with an industry on its knees.
One industry insider says the Government has had an awkward relationship with tourism and is not surprised the portfolio is being passed down the Cabinet rankings.
“They knew they had to have it but it was only paid attention when everything else wasn’t going so well. If we stay out of recession this year, it will only be because of tourism,” he said.
Henare follows Kelvin Davis and Stuart Nash. Davis introduced the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme – later found by the Auditor General to have serious deficiencies and kept a low profile in the portfolio before the pandemic. Nash was unpopular with some operators in Auckland in particular as they were hardest hit by Covid lockdowns, and while apparently a strong advocate for the industry in Cabinet, this wasn’t always strongly communicated.
His message about getting more “high-quality tourists” into the country was diverted by comments about “two-minute noodle” eating visitors and defecating freedom campers.
“He (Nash) put his foot in it with a few of his ideas about backpackers and other things. There’s been various task forces and plans but nothing has really happened. The danger of another minister was another change of direction,” said the insider who did not want to be named.
Tourism Export Council chief executive Lynda Keene welcomes Henare’s appointment as an opportunity for a fresh start and besides listening to the industry she says this country needs to make everyone welcome.
“Every visitor to New Zealand has always been a high-quality high-value visitor. It is not a cheap destination to get to or travel around,” she said.
“This premise that we were only targeting high net worth or high-quality visitors is a bit of a red herring.”
Backpackers can be repeat visitors, returning three or four times in their lifetime including with families and as big-spending retirees.
“We’ve got to be very careful about definitions. There was a suggestion you’re telling prospective visitors around the world that you’re not welcome and that’s what we’ve got to shift up with our messaging,” said Keene.
Henare was Labour’s tourism spokesman for a year from 2014 and has been an Associate Minister of Tourism since 2019. “He’s really connected through the Māori tourism network so it’s not a new thing for him at all and we’re excited about that. He immediately gets the whole Kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and Manaakitanga (hospitality) aspects of tourism that we’ve been trying to bring through for the last 20 years. It’s a good appointment.”
Before the summer peak, international visitor arrivals topped 231,000 in November last year, up from just 5000 a year earlier. Arrivals for the month were 62 per cent of the pre-Covid number in 2019 and traditional markets in what was New Zealand’s biggest foreign exchange earner are recovering, with Australia coming back fastest.
Keene said that while the industry has rebounded this summer, there are still a lot of problems and the floods over the past week have compounded them.
“It was out of response mode from the pandemic but was in the very early stage of the recovery stage. Businesses were tired in November because of the workforce shortages,” she said.
“They take so much pride in what they do. I they don’t have a full workforce they know there’s going to be some gaps, creaks and groans in what they do. It is this pride that has added this stress to the industry because they just want to do their best.”
Tourism businesses needed quick solutions to the labour crisis which has forced hotels to limit the number of rooms they sell and restaurants to turn down bookings, especially in hotspots such as Queenstown.
“We need the Government and officials to listen to the ideas that the private sector has – we have this depth of experience that can really help the Government,” she said.
“We don’t make suggestions because we’ve just thought about them on the fly. We’ve been through all these highs and lows of these crises that we’ve been through in the past. Hopefully a few more of our ideas can be picked up.”
Stephen England-Hall, a former Tourism NZ boss and now chief executive of big South Island operator, Real NZ, also urges the new minister to get out and about.
“I’d encourage him to get out there, meet the operators and get to know the different groups in tourism, not just the large operators and the associations to find out where the pressure points are.”
As the world and New Zealand faces a period of economic retraction or recession, tourism and travel are forecast to grow through it, he said.
“New Zealand is a desirable destination, we’ve got great attractions and so how does a government minister lean in to the potential for tourism to leverage that and double down on it over the next year?”
He also says there’s danger in labelling visitors high-quality or high-value.
“Someone who is a backpacker may be a critical worker in some part of our economy – just because they choose a particular style of travel doesn’t mean to say they’re low value,” he said.
Someone who flew in here in a private jet to stay in a luxury lodge for a week may not consume any local produce, may not leave the place and spend much at all. The tourism portfolio has slipped from high Cabinet ranking Davis to Nash at 11 to Henare at 15.
England-Hall says every government forms itself around its philosophies, policies and ideals.
“I think tourism hasn’t necessarily been at the top of their agenda. I don’t think it’s any less important to New Zealand or the economy,” he said.
“The visitor economy will do well – I’m uncertain about how a cabinet ranking will affect that.”
Keene said New Zealand had missed an opportunity for having globally recognised former prime minister Jacinda Ardern taking on the tourism portfolio, as John Key did when he was PM.
“I think she would have been a great tourism minister.”
If National’s leader and former Air NZ boss Christopher Luxon became prime minister later this year, the Tourism Export Council would urge him to take the portfolio.
“When a prime minister goes offshore they are representing NZ inc and a tourism minister can showcase our wonderful food, produce and innovation so it does make sense.”
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram welcomed Henare’s appointment and said the sector had the potential to make a very important economic contribution to New Zealand if our workforce can recover.
“The weather events being experienced in the upper North Island are putting additional strain on an industry already under immense pressure and has further highlighted the critical workforce need.”
The industry needed “dynamic immigration” settings that enabled it to compete globally for skilled people, especially as New Zealand will co-host the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup with Australia this year, and Chinese visitors return.
“While operators have a clear preference for hiring New Zealanders the reality is we’re seeing very few applicants for the many roles advertised – noting that pay rates have increased substantially across all role types.”
Comment has been sought from Henare about his plans for the portfolio.
One route had three times the average rate of cancellations.