South Westland businesses say the border reopening dates mean they can start edging out of survival mode after two years of hanging on by their fingernails.
Okarito Kayaks is one of several businesses hoping they can rebuild over the next 18 months. Photo: Okarito Kayaks
Close to 400 jobs were lost in the area during the first year of the pandemic - a particularly brutal blow for a population of just over 1000 pre-Covid-19.
But from 13 April Australians would be welcomed back with no need to isolate - other visa waiver countries can follow a few weeks later.
The reality of solid border dates hasn't quite sunken in for Tash Goodwin from Glacier Valley Eco Tours.
It has been a difficult few years.
"The middle of summer on a beautiful, hot, sunny night and not having those bars absolutely packed outside and people and things happening.
"It's been so surreal and so heartbreaking, and just strange that it's going to be so good to have everyone back again."
It was a morale boost, but she expected they would have to wait months to feel a financial boost, Goodwin said.
About a year ago they shut their office in Franz Josef, but she was hopeful that could change once visitors started to filter back through town.
"Eventually it will mean going back to having an office, going back to employing staff, and going back to working in the business."
A short drive from Fox Glacier, Lake Matheson Cafe owner Chris Alexander was hopeful they could see a lift in visitors over Easter - he just wasn't sure how many of them would be Australian.
A business owner near Lake Matheson is unsure how long it will take to lure Australians to visit the area. Photo: CC-BY-SA-3.0, Sebastian Mrogex
The announcement was a big weight off his shoulders and he could start rebuilding his business, he said.
"But also for our staff, you know they've stuck with us through this two years, which has been amazing that they have.
"The efforts that they've put in to keep us going and the sacrifices they've made have been great and means we'll be able to give them a bit more certainty and hopefully a bit more reward."
They have six staff who were also supported by the Jobs for Nature scheme.
The prospect of attracting new staff to the remote town was a concern, he said.
"I would like to see us by Christmas ramping that up to 15 or 20, and then who knows after that.
"Pre-Covid, we were up at 40 to 45, so we've got a long way to climb and that might take a lot longer to get back to those levels."
With bank accounts running dry, he said the government's $49 million Tourism Kick-start fund would be a boon.
Okarito Kayaks co-owner Barry Hughes said confidence meant a lot even if he didn't expect to be welcoming many tourists before spring.
"Just being able to plan, to know that the difficulties of the last two years will start to move away, I think is huge mentally for all of us. It's a really big thing."
They would usually hire two to three seasonal guides during the busier months.
"The big challenge for us is going to be recruiting a new team after a couple of years of not being able to employ local New Zealanders to show people this place."
With their revenue sitting at about 20 percent of what it was pre-Covid-19, he was hopeful they could gradually build back over the next 18 months.
Development West Coast chief executive Heath Milne said the news could keep businesses from throwing in the towel.
"There's some businesses that are just hanging on, and my concern was that they may not have survived, and this is just going to give a few more the opportunity to actually get some revenue and maybe start coming out of that survival mode."
The township of Franz Josef in South Westland. Photo:
But ramping up will not be easy especially ahead of next summer season.
A lot of the people who lost or left their jobs haven't hung around, he said.
"Replacing that workforce is going to be a big challenge, and it's going to happen at the same time that the rest of the industry is looking to rebuild their workforce too.
"So as strange as it might sound to someone who is outside the industry, getting workers in to actually meet the demand that we can see is coming is probably the biggest challenge the industry is going to face."
While reopening the borders won't rewind the last two years of job losses and closures, businesses said it was a start and a sign of a brighter future.
