Holiday parks opt in to My Vaccine Pass without mandate

Campers at Kaiteriteri Recreation reserve will have to produce proof of vaccination after 3 December. Photo / File

A popular holiday park in the Kaiteriteri Reserve has elected to require proof of vaccination for all guests staying in the park or using facilities, rather than splitting the business down current vaccine mandates.

With the move to the Covid-19 framework and the introduction of My Vaccine Pass requirements from this Friday, many businesses will be able to reopen under new conditions This also means they will have had to asses whether their customers and guests require proof of vaccination.

On the 11th of November Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve's chief executive David Ross wrote to guests informing them that certain parts of the business would require vaccination under mandates, which could see parts of the business being open to unvaccinated guests but not others.

Now the reserve has decided to extend the vaccine requirement to other facilities from 13 December.

"The government has now provided more clarity on accommodation and although they have not decided to mandate vaccination, we have decided to amend our policy after a thorough risk assessment, mitigation, and consultation process with all our staff."

All guests over 12 and without formal written exemption, will need to show proof of vaccine using the My Vaccine Pass.

Any guests who wish to cancel over these new requirements will be refunded, said the reserve.

"We have a whole gambit of operations, some of which will never need CVC. Going onto the beach is something you can't control," Ross told the Herald.

As a Crown Entity on public land the parks and access to beaches will be open to all, however guests will be required to need to be fully vaccinated to camp on site.

"The Kaiteriteri Store is classed as a supermarket and access cannot be restricted based on vaccination."

On Friday Kaiteriteri in the Tasman Bay will begin at Orange level, meaning that travel for recreation — including overnight camping is permitted.

At level Orange there are no vaccine mandates or caps on guests for accommodation including campsites.

However other businesses including outdoor activities and sports clubs are subjected to limits on visitor numbers, unless they choose to follow My Vaccine Pass requirements, and only allow fully vaccinated people to enter.