June 29, 2020
Tourism sector snapshot as shutters put up
The COVID-19 slowdown could be putting more than 11,000 jobs at risk in the Māori tourism sector – but the innovative nature of the businesses could help them survive.
That’s the word from Stats NZ, which has released the results of its 2019 survey of Māori tourism.
It found there were 234 Māori tourism businesses employing 11,100 people.
Arts and recreational businesses accounted for 29 per cent of the total, but almost 40 per cent of employees were in the 10 per cent of businesses classed as administrative and support services, which includes travel agencies and tour arrangers.
Business statistics senior manager Peter Dolan says more than 70 per cent of Māori tourism businesses came up with new ideas in 2019 in an effort to grow and diversify, which is an innovation rate 25 percentage points higher than the rate for all New Zealand businesses.
Many Māori tourism businesses have put up the shutters and laid off staff as they wait for international tourism to resume.
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