Boardroom mood: New tower shows bullish outlook for tourism

Cordis Auckland at Symonds St has just completed a $170 million expansion, making it New Zealand’s largest hotel with 640 rooms.

The new 17-storey Pinnacle Tower, with the 252 m² VIP Chairman’s Suite
and the 317 m² Club Lounge, which can accommodate 88 people, added 244 rooms to the hotel, formerly called The Langham.

“This investment reflects the optimistic outlook we have for the future of New Zealand tourism,” said Franz Mascarenhas, managing director of Cordis Auckland. “In the short term we believe there is a lot of suppressed demand due to the impact of Covid-19 and this will lead to an inevitable boom in visitor numbers.”

He says the return of cruise ships and airlines to the country will provide a significant economic boost and “from a longer-term perspective, we certainly see tourism hitting pre-Covid numbers over the next two years and then resume the rapid growth that we were experiencing before.”

The Sky City New Zealand International Convention Centre, which can accommodate up to 4,000 people and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, and the proposed cruise pier upgrade will attract more visitors to Auckland and the country .

Mascarenhas says upcoming bookings for the summer look promising. “We have some very good business on our books and the boom should start in the first quarter of next year. We are working very hard to increase our workforce.”

He says the bulk of bookings come from Australia, the United States and some leisure travelers from Europe. The Chinese are unlikely to start traveling until the middle of next year.

There are clear signs of recovery, Mascarenhas says, but a few things need to be addressed — labor availability and immigration metrics.

“We need more liberal and innovative immigration and visa policies that aim to attract foreign resources to come and live and work in New Zealand.

“Typically, 20% of our workforce is made up of students, but the late announcement of the reopening of borders means international students won’t be coming until next year, which is hampering our ability to recruit. .”

The current accredited employer work visa application can take two months to be approved, which is far too long to fill critical roles, he says. This is a brake on the recovery of tourism.

The government’s emphasis on hiring Kiwis, which is a natural priority anyway, at a time of low unemployment, only lengthens the recruitment process and makes it more difficult to find what is now a scarce global resource (labour).

Mascarenhas, a destination committee member of Auckland Unlimited, says the tourism sector needs more financial support from government and local councils for marketing in an environment of heavy competition from Australia and other countries.

“We are one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but we need to market ourselves effectively to ensure we receive the patronage we deserve – and that requires significant funding,” he said.