Each collapse of a tourist bus, coach and shuttle operator is another nail in the coffin for the New Zealand tourism industry. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic emergency, there has been a distinct lack of targeted support from Government for New Zealand Tourist bus and coach operators. Many operators are regional businesses and are the lynchpin of a healthy and thriving tourism sector. Without them, no matter how much money is targeted at destination tourist operators, it won’t make a blind bit of difference if people can’t get to these destinations.

The Minister for Tourism, Hon. Nash has, sadly, shown little empathy for their plight. These are small to medium sized businesses, often family businesses, passed down through generations and run by regular, hardworking kiwis. They are a fundamental cog in New Zealand’s economy.

It is all too clear that the tourist bus and coach sector doesn’t fit with the Government’s future vision for tourism in New Zealand. This is devastating for tourist bus and coach operators, who have been fundamental to New Zealand’s previous tourism success.

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