A staggering 93 percent of Restaurant Association members do not believe the Government has a sufficient understanding of the New Zealand hospitality industry in order to make effective decisions.
The association’s Election Survey, results of which were circulated late Friday July 17 in its 2020 manifesto, showed only 6.59 percent of those members surveyed believed the Government understood the hospitality industries’ issues.
“For a sector that generated annual sales in excess of $11 billion and employed more than 133,000 people in 2019, to not have a dedicated Minister and policy shop to consult with or call on for advice means that Government policy regularly misses the mark when considered against the realities of our sector.
“This has become increasingly apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic response,” says Association CEO Marisa Bidois.
The association has called on the next Government to :
- establish a Hospitality Minister and
- create a dedicated hospitality unit within MBIE to lead Government hospitality responses.
“The establishment of a Hospitality Minister and a dedicated hospitality unit within MBIE will signal the next Government’s intention to play an active role in the sector’s recovery, help public sector co-ordination, and provide much needed leadership around hospitality policy development.”
