NZ Ski plans "community level" season - staff reduced

NZ Ski CEO Paul Anderson has issued the following statement to Crux.

NZ Ski CEO Paul Anderson

The Ski Areas Association of New Zealand (SAANZ) executive committee met yesterday to discuss the evolving situation.  The executive committee includes the CEOs and GMs from NZSki, Cardrona, RAL, Mt Dobson, Snowplanet and Winter Games NZ. 

Key points from our meeting were:

• All member ski areas are currently planning for a range of different scenarios including a season focused solely on a domestic visitor market.  
• SAANZ members are taking a lead from the government in terms of operations and this includes pausing various marketing activity, ensuring no one is encouraging unnecessary travel at this time.  
• Our priority as a ski industry is to look after the health and safety of our visitors and teams. However, this includes being able to provide access to a sport that keeps people active, enhancing their mental and physical wellbeing, especially through this difficult time.  
• We also feel an obligation to our communities to open our ski areas this winter to provide financial stimulus to the regions in which we operate.  
• The SAANZ executive committee will continue to meet regularly as the situation progresses and keep everyone updated.

From NZSki’s perspective, although we are still 12 weeks from the start of the season, this morning’s announcement from the Prime Minister indicates that we will focus on opening our ski areas for our local communities.  This will mean visitation is reduced from normal levels and seasonal staffing levels will be reduced accordingly.  We are still working through the implications of the reductions to our seasonal workforce and will be in a position to advise this closer to the season.