Unvaccinated holiday park and resort visitors may find themselves cut short under the incoming COVID-19 Protection Framework.
The framework for COVID Vaccination Certificate (CVC) requirements separates hospitality offerings and accommodation, for which proof of vaccination is mandated for the former and not for the latter.
Tourism operators with mixed offerings are preparing guests for what the new system means for their holidays when all DHBs reach 90 percent vaccination rates.
Popular Tasman Bay holiday park The Kaiteriteri Recreation reserve announced that unvaccinated guests would not be allowed to use some facilities, and the cafe and restaurant would require CVC for entry.
David Ross, the chief executive of the Reserve, said there are a number of operations that will never need a CVC, such as the beach, which is something you cannot control.
Ross was aware requirements could change, and the reserve was preparing guests for the new CVC Framework, which could be implemented at any time.
The Reserve is pro-vaccination, he said and recommended all those eligible to get fully vaccinated. Otherwise, it will be another summer at level 2 or higher, which would be disastrous for the tourism and hospitality sector.
The Reserve is on public land and informed guests the wider reserve land, bike trails and beaches would not need CVCs to access.
Industry association Holiday Parks New Zealand (HPNZ) is helping holiday parks prepare for the new framework by working out individual risk assessments and vaccination policies with each of its 400 members. Members with mixed-use spaces, cafes and hospitality offerings may have different considerations to other sites.
The solution, of course, said CEO Fergus Brown, is to get vaccinated.
