The New Zealand Bus and Coach Association (BCA) is warning the tourism transport industry faces “decimation” unless more government support is provided.
BCA chief executive Dr Pim Borren says the industry hasn’t received its fair share of backing considering how much it contributed to the economy pre-COVID.
So far the Government has allocated $400 million to the heavily hit tourism industry through the Budget’s targeted tourism recovery fund along with wage subsidy measures.
Borren says this only represents 0.98% of the total $40.9 billion that tourism brought to New Zealand’s GDP for the year ending March 2019.
In 2019, passenger transport earned New Zealand over $4b. The passenger transport industry heavily relies on more than 200 tour coach operators transporting tourists all around the country.
“New Zealand has been transporting tourists around the country by bus for over 100 years, with the first tour coach operating in Nelson in 1918,” Borren says.
“But without a targeted share of the $400m from government, we are witnessing the decimation of the tour coach industry in New Zealand as we know it.”
As a highly capital intensive industry with a new tour coach costing in excess of $600k, it won’t be easy for operators to resupplying their fleet with new vehicles at short notice when the tide turns, he says.
The vehicles are mostly designed and constructed in New Zealand at local factories. Building a tour coach from the ordering of a chassis and supply of internal fitouts can take at least 18 months.
It’s because of these characteristics that the industry is in dire need of extra support and a good chunk of the tourism fund, Borren says
“Without financial support to keep the stability of tour coach operators intact, when the tourists eventually come back there will be no tour coach industry left for them.”
If an investment in tour coaches is not seen, the money that the Government has paid out to the strategic players will be in vain, he says. These businesses often have a connection and complement each other.
“Tour coaches are the glue of the tourism industry. All major tourism companies rely on buses to bring in their business.
“Buses transport over a million tourists every year to the various sights and venues supported by the Government’s tourism fund.
“While we appreciate the Government’s investment in people through the extended wage subsidy, the fact is most tour coach operators have already had to let their staff go, so the wage subsidy is not helping them at all now.
“This is not a plea for help, but more a demand for appreciation. For all this industry has contributed to the economy, it’s heart breaking for these operators to be ‘left out to dry’.
“Financing for vehicle leasing and maintenance has now become critical for the future survival of this industry. A blanket approach to financial support is a quick way to allow the tour coach industry to disappear. The tour coach Industry is different from most, yet more important than many,” Borren says.
