Yesterday two headlines in the NZ Herald caught my attention.   

One read: Jacinda Ardern's global tourism push: 'We're very keen to welcome visitors back'  

And the other read:'Dire' staff shortage: NZ hotels offer guests discounts to clean their rooms.’   

I did have a giggle. Yes, come on down, we’re open for business, love to have you visit. Here are some sheets, towels and cleaning products – have a great stay!    

In some parts of the country, some hotels have reduced cleaning from daily to once every three days. Others have closed services such as spas or cut back on dining and room service. New Zealand isn’t a cheap place to travel to, or throughout – an average experience isn’t going to cut it.   

The Prime Minister has a global reputation which makes her the perfect person to promote New Zealand and encourage tourism. Her job is to put New Zealand in the minds of people in the Northern Hemisphere who may be keen to take a break from their winter in 6 months and visit our sunny shores. These potential tourists aren’t going to turn up in large numbers tomorrow, but if various government departments don’t get on the same page sometime soon who knows what they’ll find when they do arrive.  

Hospitality industry leaders agree; saying that unless more overseas workers can be found quickly the country risks reputational damage.   

A lack of workers, especially entry level workers, is no surprise. We knew by the end of 2020 that the tourism industry had been devastated, and part of its workforce more than halved. A sector that has traditionally relied on younger travellers keen for an adventure and a working holiday; these workers were never going to return overnight given the length of Covid restrictions in New Zealand.  

So, where’s the urgency from Immigration New Zealand?   

With tourism, like other sectors struggling for workers – health, construction, infrastructure – immigration has been a key obstacle to moving us forward and out of the Covid slump. The government may have decided the pandemic offered a perfect opportunity to adjust New Zealand’s immigration plan, but the impact it’s having on our economy and welfare is becoming clearer by the day.   

Apparently, there are problems with new employer-accredited working visa system; National’s Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford has said the system seems to be having meltdowns.   

Stanford also learned that at least 74,000 phase-two Residence Visa Applications – that’s applications from people already in New Zealand – have been received since March and barely 3900 had been processed by June 17.  

It seems that, whether it’s trying to secure workers already in New Zealand or attract new migrants, the system isn’t working fast enough.   

New Immigration Minister Michael Wood is also under attack for slowing down Investor Visa applications by comparison with Australia, which didn’t stop processing applications during Covid. Apparently, the government is rethinking its Investment Attraction Strategy and Investor Visa Programme.   

No one makes a decision to move countries overnight. No one expects to be able to move without some process and some rigour. It takes time, and because of that we are paying the price for shutting down our immigration processes when the borders shut.   

To be fair, new Michael Wood has inherited a department that seems to have been slumbering for the last couple of years. But if NZ immigration doesn’t quickly find a way to work more effectively and ease labour shortages, the fingers will continue to be pointed the minister’s way.