Businesses around Central are braced for an influx of summer visitors with domestic tourists leading the charge, despite the open borders.

Alexandra Holiday Park is pleased with its booking numbers.

“Summer’s going to be great,” manager Janice Graham said.

“We are a destination camp rather than an overnight on the way to somewhere and the bookings are looking healthy with little space left over the Christmas/New Year period.” 

Incoming campground manager Marty Hupton said he’s optimistic and expects “a fantastic season” in his new role.

It’s the same story at motels around the area. Nicola at Alexandra Heights Motel says “summer’s looking good” with mostly domestic travellers and a few Aussies about. 

“People are being more cautious about booking several months in advance, though,” she says. 

Travellers don’t want to risk cancellations with the pandemic still lurking. 

Alexandra Heights Motel expects a good summer

Gaylene from Central Gold Motel in Cromwell has plenty of forward bookings and is hopeful of a strong summer crowd. Cromwell accommodation was fully booked out around town for several nights in the past week, she noted, which points to a good season coming. 

The bike rental space is also anticipating a full-on summer season. 

“Locals wanting to rent bikes or use shuttles should book as far in advance as they can,” Bike It Now’s Lisa Joyce said. 

“There’s a limited number of bikes available and with forward bookings so strong that people trying to book a day or so out may be disappointed.”

Domestic tourism remains strong with many kiwis still not venturing overseas, but Bike it Now is also seeing the return of international travellers, particularly Australians, Dutch and Germans.

Beth Connell at Naseby Holiday Park also has good forward bookings, particularly over Christmas and New Year. There are a handful of international tourists in the mix, but Beth thinks most of those are using travel credits left over from trips cancelled because of Covid. 

Staffing remains precarious for many businesses, but everyone The Central App spoke to was confident they could cope with the summer influx.

“All we want now is for the weather to play its part, so we can have a nice normal summer,” Beth said.

Alexandra Holiday Park