Secret Spot co-owner Keith Kolver for story about how busy some tourism places such as his have been over summer so far, despite borders being closed.
Some Rotorua tourism providers have been so busy with a solely domestic market this summer they have hired more staff.
Others who have survived the surprisingly steady season, however, are now bracing for the "great unknown" as New Zealand's holiday break begins to wrap up.
An influx of New Zealanderstravelling the country for their summer holidays, instead of travelling overseas due to Covid-19 restrictions, has meant more domestic visitors than usual for much of Rotorua's tourism sector this summer.
And while some businesses have reaped the benefits, others remain closed nearly 10 months after the country went into alert level 4 lockdown.
One of the hardest hit was Te Puia but the tourism mecca has adapted its operation for the local market and last week opened its new offering: Geyser By Night - Te Puia Light Trails.
"Otherwise, the market for us has been pretty steady, post-Christmas. I wouldn't say it's been a superheated market. We are getting a good number of people... but the numbers aren't stellar. We are hanging in there."
Prior to Covid-19, Te Puia's market was 93 to 96 per cent international. The financial impact of New Zealand's border restrictions on the business "hasn't been the $1 to $2 million mark, it's tens of millions," Cossar said.
Te Puia chief executive Tim Cossar said summer had been steady but February would be the real test. Photo / File
"We were almost like a restart business. The Kiwi market, away from around here, really didn't know what we had to offer and we still find that a lot of people have vague recollections of visiting Te Puia or the [Whakarewarewa] village when they were younger. That tends to be the pattern before they come and realise it has changed."
"It has been a huge shift."
Cossar said that while Te Puia and other local tourism outlets were experiencing "good numbers" during the holidays, February was the "great unknown".
"What happens when the season turns off? Because people have to go back to work. It's not like our borders are going to open up any time soon.
"It has been nice to see local people come in and see a different side to us. It's heartwarming to get the [positive] feedback but you still have to get the numbers through the gates. That remains our focus and challenge that's what we've got to surmount to."
Secret Spot co-owner Keith Kolver said he was humbled by local support that had seen his hot tubs regularly fully-booked over summer. However, he also was wary of a potential downturn after the holidays.
"We've been pretty happy with how things are tracking away and I suppose the big question is how's the rest of summer going to go?"
Kolver said international visitors tended to come to New Zealand from mid-January to March after most Kiwis had finished their summer holidays.
Secret Spot opened just over a year ago and since Covid-19 has only added more staff and additions such as live music to its offerings.
"It's like running on a sheet of flat ice. We don't know how thin the ice is, we don't know if there'll be a lockdown tomorrow, but you can't keep still. You have to keep moving," Kolver said.
Secret Spot co-owner Keith Kolver has been run off his feet as Kiwis make the most of Rotorua during the summer break. Photo / Andrew Warner
Velocity Valley's Debbie Guptill said summer for the adventure park had been so busy, they hired five more staff.
"Kiwis are still coming out, they are still supporting us. It's fantastic. We are really humbled by it."
Prior to Covid-19, the park's clientele was 70 per cent domestic tourists.
The shift to an exclusively domestic market had seen the number of Kiwi visitors spike 65 per cent compared to last summer.
Guptill said there had been a 50 per cent increase in people visiting from the South Island and a 60 per cent increase in visitors from Wellington.
"People are travelling from further afield. That's really positive," she said.
Guptill said they were busy enough to hire five new staff for summer, who had been working six days a week.
"Obviously, it would not have been possible without the wage subsidy. That ensured we were able to retain our staff and able to remain open. If we didn't have that, we wouldn't be in this position."
However, she anticipated a significant downturn in February. It was likely the team would take the quieter time to take annual leave and work on maintenance in the park, she said.
Each tourism provider spoken to said they felt for others in the industry who were still hurting.
Rotorua's Agrodome and Rainbow Springs Nature Park both remain closed.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall. Photo / File
Both are owned by Ngāi Tahu. A spokeswoman for the iwi could not be reached for comment.
A voicemail message at the Agrodome stated the tourism outlet was in "hibernation" due to Covid-19 and international border closures. It did not have a reopening date at this time, the message said.
A voicemail message for Rainbow Springs referred callers to its website, which stated the nature park remained closed but the National Kiwi Hatchery, attached to the park, was open for tours.
Destination Rotorua executive manager of visitor services Graham Brownrigg said it had been a busy holiday period, which had not necessarily been expected.
The Redwoods i-Site attracted the same number of people as the year prior "which was a big surprise given that we're now relying entirely on the domestic market", he said.
Good weather meant lots of people enjoying the lakes and forest then visiting the town centre when weather turned.
"This reflects the work of our marketing team who were running campaigns specifically targeting people within an hour's drive to encourage day trip visitors throughout the holiday period."
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall said tourism was a major employer of women and youth and on average every $178,000 of visitor spend created one new job.
"These jobs are important for our regions, especially where there may be few other employment options."
International visitors traditionally spend three times more per day than residents and domestic visitors spend two times more.
Te Puia, a geothermal wonderland, was severely hit by Covid-19 restrictions but staff are adapting to changes to make the most of the summer visitors. Photo / File
