New Wayfare chief executive Stephen England-Hall is keen to “join the front line” of the battle to revive tourism as a thriving, sustainable contributor to the economy in a post-Covid world. This morning he shared his thoughts about tourism’s future with Southland App reporter Marjorie Cook.  

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall has had “a crazy 24 hours” since announcing his resignation yesterday (October 28) and appointment to a new Queenstown-based role leading the Wayfare group of companies. 

Wayfare is the corporate identity of several Southern tourism companies including Real Journeys, Cardrona Alpine Resort, Go Orange, International Antarctic Centre, and Canyon Food & Brew Co. 

It is one of New Zealand’s biggest group of tourism businesses, spanning a vast territory from Christchurch to Stewart Island. 

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In an early morning phone call before attending a road show and multiple other media appointments, Mr England-Hall was clearly excited about moving his family to Queenstown next year.  

“I was born in Papakura, south Auckland, and my dad was in the air force, so we moved around the country as a kid. I grew up with my brothers and mum and dad all over the place: Auckland, Marlborough, Christchurch, the Manawatu.  

“My mum and her family are from Dunedin and they used to holiday in the lakes district. And when we were kids, we also holidayed in the lakes district. So, we have frequented that place a fair, few times,” Mr England-Hall said. 

Thus far, he has never lived in Queenstown before. He is working through the logistics of the shift, with the goal of hitting the ground in early 2021, keen not just on his new role but to get out on his mountain bike and go skiing and snowboarding with his family.  

“I am looking forward to a new adventure and a new phase, from a professional point of view, and also personally,” he said.  

“My wife and I are both into multiday hikes and we have friends we go hiking with. So, we are very much looking forward to living in a part of the world where that stuff is part of the daily experience.” 

He’s also accepted that moving to Queenstown also makes himself a magnet for friends and family keen to holiday in the resort. 

“I’ve heard that a few times in the last few days. All my mates in Auckland, a few mates from all places in the world, are going “oh excellent”! But I am saying, “No you don’t need to stay with me. You need to contribute to the local tourism economy.” 

Real Journey's excursion to Glow Worm Caves, Te Anau. Photo: Supplied

Covid-19 closed borders and hit tourism with a devastating blow earlier this year, slashing visitor numbers to New Zealand’s premium visitor destinations in Southland and Queenstown Lakes districts, which in turn created gaping holes in the local, regional and national economy. 

A June report by Westpac senior economist Dominick Stephens has forecast national recovery should not be expected until late 2021, early 22. 

“Over the past few years there have been stark differences in the economic fortunes of New Zealand’s regions. But Covid-19 will be a great leveller. No region will be immune to the coming recession, and the economic outlook now looks more similar right across the country. We expect all regions to experience a deep recession and rising unemployment this year, followed by a recovery from late-2021 or early-2022,” Mr Stephens said in the Regional Roundup June 2020. 

Mr England-Hall said Tourism New Zealand had responded by taking a very clear approach to recovery over several years. 

"I am a massive advocate for what tourism does for New Zealand, both internationally and from a brand and reputation and cultural perspective. But, also economically, socially and increasingly environmentally.  

“I am a huge, huge supporter of what a well-functioning tourism industry and businesses can contribute.  

“Where we are right now, with respect to New Zealand, it has occurred to me, that what TNZ is doing is really clear, very impactful and it is quite a clear path for what it needs to contribute over the next few years.  

“The Wayfare group opportunity is about taking some of that off the front line. I see that as being an opportunity, hopefully, to have a really positive on the future of the sector in a different capacity.” 

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The Wayfare group contains a “hugely diverse portfolio” business interests, across four seasons and catering for a wide range of visitor experiences, he said.  

“[It has] a significant iconic collection of experiences that really are able to highlight to international visitors our great country . . . everything from the Antarctic Centre to Stewart Island and the ski fields, the cruises, and the tours and so forth. [It] fits different audiences and has different things to show off about the country, and I think that’s quite appealing too,” he said. 

He’s now in the process of wrapping up for Tourism New Zealand, where he has been working since 2017. Prior to that, he previously led Loyalty NZ, which is the company behind Flybuys, and the analytics business LAB360.  

The board would start looking for a replacement within the next couple of weeks. That process could take a few months to complete and an acting person would probably be put in place when he left his role, he said. 

“It is pretty much business as usual here. My board reminded me when I gave them the news, you are the CEO until the day you leave. So, it is business as usual and I think New Zealand’s very fortunate to have a team like we have at Tourism New Zealand and an organisation with their mandate.  

“It is really nose to the grindstone, full on doing the work they are doing right now to stimulate domestic activity and making sure the summer season is going to be a bumper one. And supporting our international brand efforts and getting things ready for borders to open when they do,” he said. 

When that happens is anyone’s best guess, he said. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any inside information on that one . . . [There are] two challenges I think the officials and Government ministers have to contend with, on that one. It is pretty well understood there is an economic one and there is a health one. 

“I think [New Zealand] has done well to get to where we are, if you look at how New Zealand is operating compared to other countries around the world.  

“The challenge becomes how do you move out of this stasis mode into a more open mode. That really comes down to testing, testing, testing and tracing [for Covid-19].  

“I don’t have a crystal ball. I wish I did but I suspect as we get more confidence in other markets and in our own ability to rapidly test and isolate and manage any potential risks, I think you will see movement between countries as they start to open up.  

“It is not just about tourism - and I have said this quite a few times in the last few weeks - tourism is a part of it, but people forget that 50 percent of the arrivals in the country each year from overseas simply visiting friends and relatives.  

“So [there are] 2 million people a year who are currently not connecting with family and friends and that has to have a mental and emotional toll on people. Being disconnected from their loved ones and friends. I do think that is probably where things will start to move on the borders.” 

Now, just small groups of people with a high impact on New Zealand’s outlook were getting into the country: skilled professionals, investors, entrepreneurs.  

From there, the country would move to accept students, again in manageable numbers, he said. 

“But then we are going to get people wanting to visit relatives and friends. I think that is going to be a big driver of the border opening and once those things start to move, I think tourism is going to very quickly follow. But the question is when? No idea.” 

Real Journey's Fiordland Navigator. Photo: Supplied

New Zealand’s ability to cope with the loss of international tourism was a “mixed bag’’. 

“I think it is a really mixed bag, to be honest. . . It is definitely better on the domestic side than anyone had anticipated. When we were thinking about this stuff back in May, June, everyone was asking are we going to have a ski season or not. There are parts to the tourism system that have done a lot better than we would have thought.  

“Winter was up on domestic spend, up 7 percent on winter last year for domestic, and that included Auckland being in lock down for some of it. So that was good.  

“But if you look at it overall, the tourism economy is down 18 percent by year. That is the bit that sometimes gets lost. Yes, we can have both a booming domestic economy and a big gaping hole from internationals. It doesn’t matter how much we try to fill the void with Kiwis, we will have a big gap.” 

HIs advice to tourism students and businesses was to try and find a way to hang in there for the next six to 12 months, because he believes growth will come again. 

“Absolutely. I think tourism has a significant role to play in our recovery of our country . . . What we have now is a health crisis and we are about to have an economic crisis.  

“And because of the shape of tourism and what it does for New Zealand, it will be a core component of our recovery.  

“Without a tourism recovery, there isn’t really a long-term New Zealand one. Long-term yes, it is an incredibly vibrant and viable industry and it is important to New Zealand’s identity and economy and the support and protection and enhancement of our cultural and environmental assets. So, tourism is crucial. 

“From a student point of view, I couldn’t think of a better time to be getting into this industry, although it is going to be tough for the next little while. But sometimes it is better to get in at the bottom than the top.  

“Though, if you were getting in during February, just before Covid, you might think what the hell have I done. But if you were coming in now, from here on it is probably a growth story, or not quite.  

“We have a few months, six to 12 months to go of tough stuff. So if you are committed and interested in it and want to be part of it, I think it is a phenomenal option.” 

“For businesses, I think this is a difficult one, because we don’t have a crystal ball and every business has a different scenario.  

“But basically, it is about rebalancing your cost base with what is available in the demand system . . . You have to realign your business profile, resourcing, [and] costs with what is available in terms of customers and demand. That is really tricky because it is dynamic and differs from business to business,” he said. 

It was important for business operators to get a view that showed, for the next year or so, that there was a sustainable financial business without any international visitors, he said. 

“And you have to kind of get to that point. If the answer is yes, you can survive as long as there are customers.  

“Of course, the challenge will become labour and other things will become an issue, migrant labour and things like that.  

“But I think from a business perspective it is about getting aligned with the available demand in the market and trying to be sustainable without that international layer, and once you get there, holding on and get ready for growth. Because it will come.” 

From former times: a traffic jam on the Milford Road. Photo: Supplied.

It is clear Mr England-Hall does not advocate making attempts to rebuild things the way it used to be, with traffic congestion and carpark dramas all along the Southern Scenic Route on State Highway 6. 

He has three thoughts about the way forward. 

“Sixty percent of New Zealand's hospitality and retail only exist because of visitors. So, what will start to show up over the next six to 12 months, unfortunately, will be for sale signs in a lot of shop windows without those tourists. Yes, you will get the carpark, but there won’t be the shops there to buy from. That is the ouch.” 

“My second thought it is probably never going to go back to the way it was. You can only go forwards. You can’t go backwards. Going forwards from here looks different from what is has done before . . .  

“Tourism has to grow back better than what it was before. I don’t think it will be bigger than what it was before, but it will be better.  

“And the scale of the industry will be different and the visitor behaviour will be different and that is partly driven by new world conditions created out of Covid. And it is also partly driven by the fact there is less supply. There are going to be fewer available opportunities for people. 

“The third one is that New Zealand will have to compete globally for tourists. Everyone is going to want the same ones, the ones with lower impact, appreciate culture, are environmentally conscious of their footprint, spend a lot of money, visit on a weekday. That is the audience the whole world is going to go after. I think we are a long, long, long way from what we were.”