The airport’s intimate proximity to deliver customers to an adrenaline-pumping range of single-use tourism experiences was, at that time, integral to most local livelihoods. But times have changed, and the need for an airport within 15 minutes — rather than one hour — is no longer essential for the Queenstown economy. Its economic impact on Queenstown has been less than anticipated despite the pain it has inflicted on businesses in the tourism sector. During the second year of Covid Queenstown Lakes District’s GDP rose 8.3% by the end of the third quarter, still behind where it was in FY2020, but not by much. This Covid experience proves wrong the long-held conviction that Queenstown Airport must forever remain within 15 minutes of the resort’s hotels.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 28, 2022 22:43 UTC