10 Jan - 16 Jan
LOCALLY OWNED SINCE FOREVER
No 883
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
JO
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12 IN 6 SI
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Is this the other side?
Judging by the busy streets and feedback from many business owners, the Christmas / New Year period has been the sort of summer we’d been hoping for. Tens of thousands of holidaymakers and locals have enjoyed a bumper few weeks, with the return of Queenstown’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, Queenstown Airport reporting its hitting 2019 levels, and hardly a mask, QR code, or social-distancing sign in sight. With borders reopened and the events industry cranking again, it feels like Queenstown has its mojo back. And, looking at occupancy and booking numbers, it appears the sound of tills ringing could stretch deep into January and February, with no signs of the same huge post-holiday drop in visitor numbers we experienced in the pandemic years. Even downtown has turned a corner. Despite years of setbacks and frustration, much of the streetscape work is now complete, the covers have been taken off, the godawful fences removed, and we have the vision that was unveiled in 2020: wide, even, pedestrian-first streets. Upper and Lower Beach St are pretty much done, along with the Brecon Street / Rees St / Shotover St junction. The temporary flooring for Rees St was a great idea for the holidays and shows how wander-able downtown will be once it’s all finished. In Wānaka, the reopening of the lake front after a major makeover and relocation of the car spaces away from the lakefront, has a similar air of renewal. I know all the talk for 2023 is of a recession, and rapid interest rate rises meaning people will have less money to spend, but in my heart, I think we had our recession in late 2019 through to mid-last year. The flood of international visitors again, particularly with China opening up, will more than offset whatever hurt the Reserve Bank wants us to take, to get inflation under control. Over the past two years there’s been a lot of work in reimagining the future for Queenstown Lakes. The 2030 Zero Carbon plan, which will hopefully get a great deal more attention this year than it has so far, is one sign that it’s not just back to business as usual. Another is the announcement a multimilliondollar digital studio will be a cornerstone tenant in the Queenstown research and innovation facility over in Remarkables Park. If the pandemic has given us the breathing space to add some diversity to the economy, and make it greener, it shows we can take some positives from three years of trouble. Let’s be honest the last couple of years were big time crap for most of us. But now it really feels like our resilience, entrepreneur spirit, determination and adaptability will pay off, making 2023 a great year - if the town can find staff of course! Ohh and the terrific spell of weather is going down well… Happy New Year. David Gibbs - david@qmg.co.nz
The annual Lake Hayes A&P Show returns on Saturday for its 107th instalment at the Lake Hayes Showgrounds. See story on page 4
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