Snowballs set to fly as the trans-Tasman ski wars begin

The Tasman bubble might not yet be a thing. And ski resorts across both sides of the ditch are scrambling to make social distancing work on the slopes where quad chairs and T-bar lifts are often, shall we say, cosy.

But already, the snow wars are on. Not least given the annual ski season delivers around $2 billion in Australia alone.

Given New Zealand's adventure capital of Queenstown relies on Australians to generate 40 per cent of its business during the busy winter months, NZSki is doing its best to attract trans-Tasman visitors.

It is offering families "kids under 10 ski for free" across all three of its resorts – Mt Hutt, Coronet Peak and The Remarkables – plus 10 per cent off online lift ticket purchases for daily tickets and multi-day passes, where an adult day ticket starts at NZ$129 ($120) before the online discount.

The move comes as Tourism New Zealand released a multimillion-dollar regional campaign over the past week with the slogan, Do something new, New Zealand!, to ensure it is in consumers' minds once borders reopen.

"We're working hard to compile deals and offers so we're ready to go with marketing material as soon as the Tasman is open for Aussies to fly in," NZSki's marketing manager, Libby Baron, told AFR Weekend.

Not to be outdone, on Friday, Perisher in NSW and Hotham and Falls Creek in Victoria announced they would open on June 24, a Wednesday, just two days behind Thredbo in NSW and Victoria's Mount Buller on June 22. Colorado-based Vail Resorts owns Perisher, Hotham and Falls Creek.

With international cruise ships now banned from Australian waters through to September 17 – and many of Australia's internal borders still shut – skiing is shaping up as a strong option for domestic would-be holidaymakers in NSW and Victoria at least.

Shannon Exelby, the general manager of Traverse Alpine Group, the largest employer at Falls Creek after Vail Resorts, said the phones had been running hot since the season go-ahead was given.

"We've been planning so many scenarios, we are just ecstatic to be having a ski season. The village is in full swing to make the June 24 opening date."

One of TAG's properties is award-winning luxury boutique hotel Astra. Proprietor Rosy Seaton said that despite cancellations from Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, these had been replaced by bookings from NSW and Victoria.

"A lot of people who wouldn't necessarily ski at this time of year, who might go to Greece, are coming here," she said.

Thredbo general manager Stuart Diver is equally relieved to have a firm opening date. “After such a challenging start to 2020 with the bushfires and now COVID-19, we are so pleased to open."

His resort will run at 50 per cent skier capacity. And while only a "small percentage" of Thredbo skiers come from Queensland, the wider issue is managing visitor numbers in advance. That rules out a spontaneous dash to the snow if there's a snow dump – all tickets must be pre-booked.

Resorts are yet to finalise their ticket pricing. Mr Diver said prices would represent a "minimal increase on 2019 pricing". Thredbo’s revised product offering, including day passes, private lessons, ski and snowboard rental and accommodation, will be available for pre-purchase from 11.59pm on June 10. At this stage, there will be no ski school and day sitting for small children.

Social distancing measures will include fewer people on lifts and lift queue spacing. All dining outlets will have to observe state government rules.

NZSki plans to open all three mountains in the immediate Queenstown region but ski days will be staggered, at least to begin with, to avoid crowding.

Mt Hutt in Canterbury plans to be the first to open – in mid-to-late June –operating three days a week before stretching to five days, including weekends, while in Queenstown, Coronet Peak is planning to open daily from late June.

The Remarkables is preparing to open daily from early July for the two-week New Zealand school holidays, then on weekends.

“We do have the capacity to scale up our operations across all of our mountains,” NZSki CEO Paul Anderson said, “if we see guest numbers that warrant this as the season progresses.”