Higher fuel costs are forcing cuts to trans-Tasman flights, raising concerns among tourism operators that ongoing cost pressures and reduced capacity could dampen last-minute bookings and further strain an already competitive travel market.
Regional Tourism New Zealand chair Andrew Wilson said that the effects had not yet fully flowed through, but warned that the cuts could soon be felt by consumers, particularly in the form of reduced availability and tighter options for last-minute bookings.
“The frequency of service and the ability for people to be able to book probably last minute or to try and find something that meets a really specific kind of time-frame,” he said.
“If people have got a narrow window to travel, that’s really the biggest worry around it.”
Wilson said there was still uncertainty across the tourism sector about how long the impacts would last, with operators unsure whether current pressures would be short-lived or more sustained.
He said airlines would be mindful of the need to maintain reliable services across the Tasman and into long-haul markets, balancing cost pressures with the importance of keeping key routes operating to support demand.
“We’re pretty optimistic that the work we’ve done over the last couple of years to really kind of boost international arrivals, and in particular Australian arrivals, puts us in a good position,” Wilson explained.
“I think demand for travelling to New Zealand is still really strong, but we certainly can’t afford to take our foot off the gas in terms of making sure that international visitors know just how incredible our country is.”
Wilson said consumer confidence had softened in Australia amid broader economic pressures, but he remained encouraged by continued strong arrival numbers into New Zealand, suggesting underlying travel demand was still holding up.
He said tourism operators in Queenstown and Christchurch were likely to be cautious heading into the winter season, but he remained optimistic that sufficient flight capacity would be maintained to support demand and keep key visitor routes open.
“I’m fairly confident there’ll still be sufficient capacity on those routes to get plenty of Australian skiers across the Tasman when we kind of head into the winter season,” Wilson said.
“We’ll all be looking out for that first good dump of snow down south, and I’m sure that’ll drive pretty significant kinds of bookings at that point.”