Ruapehu eruption a boon for South Island slopes

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 669, 14 January 1997, Page 7

Ruapehu eruption a boon for South Island slopes

South Island ski slopes had a runa way season in 1996 thanks to Ruapehu 's eruptions, but overall skier visits were still less than half the 1 994 record. Ski Council executive director Miles Davidson said the 1996 season was more frustrating than disappointing. Ski visits this year to the 12 commercfal ski resorts reached 921,000, slightly down on 1995 but significantly down on 1994 which saw l'.9.1 million ski visits — a record for the industry. International skiers accounted for 20 per cent of the market, with most from Australia, Japan, North America and Asia. Snowboarders made up about 20 per cent of the market — a rapid increase from 1 5 per cent in 1995, Mr Davidson said. The industry had hoped to hit 1 .2 million in 1 996 but the June eruption of Mt Ruapehu had thwarted that with ash covering the mountain. "The South Island had an excellent year, great snow conditions and some well-priced packages. However, the North Island really did suffer." The Ski Council Discover Snow programmes aimed at attracting new skiers were also canned in the North Island because of the dismal season. Volcanic ash dunjped again on Mt Ruapehu at the start of and dyring the ski season wiped out 66 per cent of ski cfays at Turoa and about the same at Whakapapa. Turoa closed at the end of September, and Whakapapa closed at Labour Weekend. While the North Island ski slopes were hard hit, so were Wellington' s ski retailers. Retailers reported an 80 per cent drop in

business after Mt Ruapehu erupted again on 17 June. Canterbury and Queenstown recorded a bumper season with tourism revenue up by almost $12 million. Mount CookLine ski areas product manager John Grant said the 1 1 per cent increase in visits at Mt Hutt in Canterbury and a 19 per cent increase at Coronet Peak and The Remarkables in Queenstown made the season one of the best recorded. At Mt Hutt, skier and snowboarder visits from Australia increased by 27 per cent, Japan by 35 per cent and visitors from the North Island jumped nine per cent, giving a $2.9 million boost to the Canterbury economy. In Queenstown visits from Australia grew by 38 per cent, North Island visitors rose by 40 per cent and Japan by 12 per cent, putting an extra $10.41 million into the Southern Lakes economy. Mr Grant said that while some of the growth was duC to the North Island' s season being affected by Mt Ruapehu, a significant proportion was due to increased marketing initiati ves by the Mt Hutt Winter Marketing Group and the Queenstown . Winter Marketing Group. "The challenge for next year is to encourage many of the North Islanders who travelled south because of Ruapehu in 1 996 to once again ski or snowboard at Mt Hutt, Coronet Peak or The Remarkables," Mr Grant said. Rainbow Skifield and the Marlborough economy also benefited from Mt Ruapehu' s eruption, attracting skiers from June and reporti ng ski numbers up by 50 per cent most months.