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NZ resorts confident of attracting ski tourists

(30 May 2007)

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Despite witnessing a May reported to be the warmest in some 20 years, ski resorts across New Zealand believe they will still be able to attract ski and snowboard tourists in the run-up to the winter season.

Although resorts such as Whakapapa Mountain and Mount Hutt are yet to see much snowfall, meteorological officials are confident skiers and snowboarders will be able to take to the slopes in coming months.

Jordy Hendrikx from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research told TV3: "If we look back over the last ten or so years we see that some years we do have early season snow in May but normally we don't receive significant snowfall until early June or the middle of June."

Dave Maisey, manager of Whakapapa Mountain, added "it's been like this before and we have had great winters after it".

Earlier this month, Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton suggested that a record number of foreign winter sports tourists will hit the slopes during the upcoming ski season.

During the same period in 2006, over 101,000 holiday ski and snowboarders visited the islands.

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