LAKES BUSINESS

Winter 2023 - the buzz is back

by David Gibbs

While summer might now pull in more visitors, Queenstown Lakes will always be an iconic winter destination.

e ski elds and all things snow remain a huge economic driver for the district, and 2023 is expected to be the season winter tourism nally returns to its regular rhythm following the pandemic.

For the July edition of Lakes Business, we’ve spoken to ski eld managers, tour operators, retailers, business owners, entrepreneurs and other local stars to see what’s new and what they expect from the season.

Sue Fea’s written about what’s anticipated to be a record breaking in ux of Aussie tourists, with ski bookings booming from across the ditch, bolstered by the events sector, with sold-out Snow Machine festival, Winter Pride and Winter Games NZ all bringing thousands into town.

Paul Taylor has spoken to NZSki’s Paul Anderson and RealNZ’s Laura Hedley about their plans for Coronet Peak, e Remarkables, and Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone respectively, and caught up with former Cardrona boss Bridget Legnavsky, who now runs Sugar Bowl Resort in the US. Sue’s also had a chat with Snow Farm boss Sam Lee, while Jess Allen has interviewed Cardona Valley businesses about what makes the village so special in winter.

And if you ick through the pages, you’ll also nd interviews with Outside Sports founders Judy and John Knight, business consultant and podcast host Jane Guy, the team at Ginger Bear brewer Crimson Badger, survival specialist Logan Lore, and many more. Happy reading!

Bookings boom for Queenstown

by Sue Fea

Leading Australian ski package wholesalers say Queenstown Lakes is in for a “record breaker” ski season with the in ux of Aussies this winter, with one reporting double the bookings compared with 2019.

Yield is up signi cantly too with customers spending almost 40 percent more on their ski holiday than in 2019.

Mountain Watch Travel Managing Director Quentin Nolan estimates at least 30,000 to 40,000 Aussies are heading to Queenstown this winter on ski holidays, up 15 to 20 percent compared with 2019.

Sno’n’Ski Holidays Managing Director Dan Walker says his company alone is bringing well over $A5million into Queenstown with about 3500 guests booked.

Both say they would be bringing more if there was accommodation available. “We’re limited by accommodation,” Nolan says.

It’s incredibly hard to nd accommodation for combo holiday packages during the week of his company’s destination Snow Machine Festival in September. e festival will see two stages set up on Coronet Peak and e Remarkables with another downtown. “It’s the biggest snow event in New Zealand right now.” Nolan is also discussing with QLDC the possibility of another downtown stage to hold some free community events.

Walker says Sno’n’Ski Holidays has seen “a NZ sales boom” for 2023.

“More importantly they’re spending more money” Walker says. While Australian passenger numbers are down 13 percent on 2019, customers are spending 37 percent more, with the average spend around $1600 covering a seven-night Queenstown skiing holiday.

“We’re really hoping Air New Zealand reinstates the Brisbane-Queenstown direct services,” he says. “A daily service would add another 170 seats a day.” ere’s been strong demand for Virgin Australia and Qantas on the Brisbane - Queenstown direct services.

Despite increased airfares which are up about 30 percent compared with pre-Covid, we’re still seen as great value with Canada costing $AUD4000 just in airfares. “Even at $A900, we’re telling people if they see that price to book it.” e exchange rate is still favourable for Aussies too.

Australians remain the largest single market for the NZ tourism industry as a whole. ey spent $1 billion in the rst quarter of 2023, followed by USA visitors ($518m) and UK visitors ($383m).

Destination Queenstown CEO Mat Woods:

“We’re very excited about the busy winter season ahead. e Australian school holidays started on June 24 and NZ holidays a week later. It’s no surprise to see the strong demand o the back of an incredible winter last year. At this stage, our forward outlook indicates visitation is spread more evenly over July and August than previous years and September is also looking strong with a good range of events and activity. It’s great to hear the local mountains are fully sta ed for the season. e connectivity from East Coast Australia directly into Queenstown makes it extremely convenient for Aussies to visit Queenstown and experience an exceptional winter holiday.”

According to the latest estimates, around 300,000 Aussies are expected to y into New Zealand this winter. at’s 90 percent of pre-Covid levels (345,000 in 2019). While customers are being advised to pre-book activities and restaurants before they travel, Walker says they’re more concerned about potential tra c problems now that NZSki has discontinued its hotel pickups. “ is has resulted in a huge spike in car hire bookings,” he says. “We’re concerned about the tra c in Queenstown, as part of the overall guest experience. However, local suppliers made it work last year with very positive feedback overall, so I’m sure they’ll do it again.”

New Zealand attracts the 3-4 star market, choosing to save money and stay ‘local’ again this year. “Queenstown’s tting the budget,” he says. e numbers heading to Japan this winter are also “mind blowing.”

SKI SEASON FACTS *

• Queenstown Lakes residents account for one of every ve skier days.

• Most visitors during the ski season are domestic, mostly from Auckland and Wellington.

• Australian visitors primarily come from the East Coast: New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

• Two-thirds of Australian skiers and snowboarders are beginner level.

• Most stay in serviced apartments and short-term holiday rentals.

• Visitors stay on 5.7 nights on average and 63% plan to return within 12 months.

• e four ski areas - e Remarkables, Coronet Peak, Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone - have a combined estimated daily capacity of 17,000 skiers.

*Source: Queenstown Visitor Experience Survey April 2022 – March 2023

New Zealand’s gain is a loss for Australia with operators experiencing a signi cant decrease in domestic visitors to the Australian ski elds

“A day skiing at Perisher costs $220 whereas, while Earlybird deals at NZSki, Cardrona and Treble Cone got the daily cost down to $99,” says Nolan.

Accommodation is the big sticking point for Queenstown, they say. “ e July (Australian and NZ) school holidays have been mostly booked for about three months and August is also getting di cult,” he says.

Novotel Queenstown Lakeside general manager Jim Moore says he’s expecting to be “close to full” for peak dates. “I don’t believe we’re full on any dates yet, but we expect to be. Late June, July and into August we expect to be extremely busy.” Bookings so far are “very solid”, up ve to ten percent on last year.

Rees Hotel CEO Mark Rose says school holidays are on the full side, but not completely, and will be “incredibly busy”. “It’s no busier than 2019, but de nitely a higher yield.” e Australian market is the hotels largest market in all but one month this year.

NZSki CEO Paul Anderson says bookings are well up and people should get in super early if they want a car park during the school holiday periods and on fresh powder, bluebird days. Anderson is urging guests to be prepared and book rentals in advance with such a busy season ahead.

An online booking system has been introduced for NZSki buses rather than a rst in, rst served basis. “We had some reasonably sizeable queues last year.”