A major new parliamentary commissioner for the environment report has just dropped, with recommendations about how tourism should be reshaped. Alex Braae spoke to Simon Upton about what he’s proposing. Last time parliamentary commissioner for the environment Simon Upton did some domestic tourism, he went to Raglan. He ate in a local restaurant, and attempted … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Queenstown mayor calls for more taxpayer support, rent going up for military families, and Air NZ bosses front up at parliament. Last week we got a sense of the overall economic picture for the country, and today it’s worth taking a closer look at one … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tourism suffers in the shadow of Covid-19, two new positive cases in Auckland confirmed, and National will contest the Māori electorates. The front page of the January 4 Greymouth Star carried grim tidings for several of the glacier towns on the West Coast. The reporting has … Read more
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way. On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have pushed through the sooty … Read more
Summer reissue: Turns out that a lot of people are very mad at a lot of our iconic tourist attractions. First published on January 9, 2020. This summer will go down in history as the first time that I stood in the shadow of the mighty L&P bottle in Paeroa. The rumours are true – … Read more
Summer reissue: Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris travels to Waitomo to see first hand the impact of Covid-19 on one of New Zealand’s oldest tourist destinations. First published 8 June, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more … Read more
As 2020 draws to a close, Michael Andrew asks the economists what they made of a year of dire forecasts, record spikes, lockdowns, recessions and resilience. It’s April 2020, New Zealand is in the middle of the nationwide level four lockdown, and I’m on the phone with my old university lecturer, Professor Paul Hansen – … Read more
With New Zealand tourism in a lull – and backpackers in the firing line – Queenstown-based start-up Kiwi Welcome is creating a new model of sustainable travel where visitors add value to the land. For the past few years – up until Covid-19 began hoarding the headlines – one of New Zealand’s most pressing public … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: 5 million Covid vaccines on the way in major new agreement, new tourism minister confirms change in industry focus, and an outstanding outline of the current drug law mess. There is now the possibility that every single New Zealander who wants a Covid vaccine will … Read more
Stuart Nash wants to refocus the tourism industry on high-net-worth individuals. But younger, poorer travellers have much to offer too, writes Alex Braae. Backpackers and freedom campers are easy groups of people to hate. They drive vans with stupid slogans written on them. They’ve got a reputation – possibly unfair – for white-guy dreadlocks and … Read more
Covid-19 is still having a disproportionate impact on employment across the genders. Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara explains the trends, consequences and what could it mean for the gender pay gap. The latest labour market statistics for the September quarter came with few obvious surprises. The unemployment rate increased to a lower-than-expected 5.3%, and the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pre-election poll shows massive lead for Labour, Advance NZ kicked off Facebook, and new developments in NZ First Foundation saga. A poll released just days before the election shows Labour is still in a clear position to form the next government. While the One News Colmar Brunton showed … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: SFO files charges against two people in connection with NZ First Foundation, tourism industry holding out Christmas bubble hope, and Advance NZ go to court over debate exclusion. Just days before voting starts, we got an update yesterday on the Serious Fraud Office investigation into the … Read more
During the worst days of the Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand, Matamata was right at the heart of it all. Alex Braae went to the Waikato town to ask people how they’re getting on now. On the signs heading out to the Hobbiton Movie Set about 10 minutes away from the Waikato town of Matamata … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Amelia Gain from hotel booking software company Preno. Covid-19 has changed the world for a lot of businesses, … Read more
Covid-19 or not, renewable energy is the future. That’s why one grassroots business is taking a leap of faith and trusting that the current downturn will eventually yield to an ecotourism boom. To launch an ecotourism business in rural Otago right now, you’d need to be either a visionary or just a little bit mad. … Read more
New business ventures are trying to jump-start the economy of New Brighton, the Christchurch beachside suburb that locals say is on the cusp of greatness – if it can just maintain some momentum post-Covid. Green Bear Coffee runs on a simple concept: good coffee, community and sustainability. But what isn’t simple is opening a week … Read more
Only one is really easy, but most of them make sense, in a bleak way. Envious of New Zealand progress in campaigns against things like viruses and armed police forces, Americans have been visiting the Immigration NZ website again, and alighting on enticing official messages on the Immigration NZ website newzealandnow.govt.nz. It turns out these … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read the rest of the series here.
Waitomo is a town built on tourism. But as overseas visitors who have been flocking to its spectacular network of glow-worm caves for over a century dry up, the future looks uncertain. More than 130 years ago, the eruption of Mount Tarawera killed an estimated 153 people and buried Te Otukapuarangi and Te Tarata, the … Read more
Could a taiao values approach to our economy be the key to bridging the gap between protecting our environment and prospering as people? Dr Amanda Black from the Bio-Protection Research Centre explains how. Aotearoa has been economically dependent on our primary sector for generations. But in this new Covid-19-framed world, that dependence will be magnified. … Read more
As the bars reopen and businesses regroup in post-Covid Queenstown, George Driver finds a town filled with bargain prices, eerie streets, fear and hope. A “tourism bloodbath”, a “broke, empty paradise” facing a “tsunami of unemployment”. The headlines about Queenstown have not been positive. Neither are the figures. Unemployment expected to hit 30%. Tourism, 55% … Read more
There’s widespread appetite for domestic tourism, while public support for the alert level two shift is high. New Zealand tourism could be handed a lifeline if New Zealanders take the domestic holidays they say they will in the next three months. In a new Stickybeak survey, 42% said they intend to holiday in New Zealand … Read more
Budget 2020: The tourism sector was holding out hope for a lifeline to come in the form of yesterday’s budget. It didn’t come, and now its leaders say they’re drowning. Members of the beleaguered tourism industry say the support they’ve been offered is a drop in the bucket compared to what is necessary given the … Read more
Budget 2020: Yesterday $50b worth of financial measures were committed to protect jobs in the industries most affected by Covid-19. So what did small business owners make of it? For many business, perhaps the most anticipated and welcome measure in the Covid-19 response budget was the $4bn support package, which included an eight-week wage subsidy … Read more
After moving back home to Clyde in Central Otago for the Covid-19 lockdown, George Driver wonders how the tiny town on the edge of Queenstown’s tourism boom and bust will survive. Growing up, Clyde always felt like a quiet backwater. Cut off from the main road and in the shadow of the 100m concrete wall … Read more
In a small community on a remote stretch of the West Coast, tourism operators contemplate a town without tourists. Halfway between Westport and Greymouth, Punakaiki usually heaves with rental cars, campers and buses during the summer. More than 400,000 people visit the unique geological formations known as the pancake rocks every year, according to a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Economic collapse of Queenstown looms, trade minister warns of over-reliance on China, and a must-read new edition of The Side-Eye. For a lead today, we’re going to focus on a part of the country that could end up wearing the Covid-19 downturn hardest. Before this, Queenstown … Read more
As New Zealanders await the end of alert level four and the chance to escape their homes, some are in such scenic lockdown refuges they won’t want to leave. Every morning, the 11 residents at the Lake Tekapo Holiday Park wake up to silence. It’s dense and thorough – the kind that presses on your … Read more