After almost three years of having their incomes restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic local businesses face the busy holiday season with yet another problem, a lack of staff.

Job advertisements in the Wānaka App are running at an all time high in recent weeks and Lake Wānaka Tourism general manager Tim Barke says there is a big hole to fill in the seasonal workforce.

“Businesses are reporting a lot of enquiry and bookings, the biggest challenge is having enough staff,” he said.

“Almost everyone is constantly advertising but because of the lack of working holiday visa holders and applications for new visas not kicking in until the end of this month there is a big hole in the seasonal workforce.

“If there were plenty of Kiwis available to take up the jobs that would be no problem but they simply aren’t there despite significant increases in pay being offered.”

Tim said there was a noticeable change in gear with the flow of enquiries since the border testing was dropped and said the Wānaka i-SITE had noticed a good uptick in visitors from Australia.

“School holidays are looking great with plenty of snow setting us up perfectly for the holiday period.

“The i-SITE has been busy finding accommodation and plenty of activity bookings for people arriving in town but also a lot coming in for the summer,” he said.

Puzzling World marketing manager Duncan Spear said the number of Australian families visiting the attraction in the past week has been encouraging.

“We expect it [holiday visitors] to be almost back to normal,” he said. “However, servicing that demand is tricky as we are three to four roles down.

“There just isn’t that supply of staff but we are managing.”

The July school holidays start today and run for two weeks, ending on July 24.

PHOTO: Wānaka App