The chair of the Waitangi National Trust says he's pleased by the response to the cancellation of in-person events at Waitangi this year.
Waitangi Day events have been cancelled this year. Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye/ 123RF
Pita Tipene said while some people were unsure about how they can commemorate the event, they had been understanding of the cancellation.
"There's some despondency, but on the other hand people feel that it was the right decision, given the health and safety of our people, the public, our staff is paramount over everything else," he said.
"People are very supportive of the decision, they take this as a one-off."
He said all the preparations, including filming content to air on Waitangi Day, have now been completed.
Tipene said he would be doing a personal karakia to mark the occasion.
Northland's economic development agency said the region was open and ready for visitors, despite some Waitangi Day events being cancelled.
Northland Inc acting head Vaughan Cooper said he hoped people would still come to visit the region over the long weekend.
"Waitangi Day's obviously not going to be as busy as previous years, because of the reasons people can't attend," he said.
"However we do hope that people will come to the region and enjoy their holidays. It is one of two or three long weekends after Christmas where we have the most tourism activity."
He said accommodation booking numbers were lower than usual this year and people seemed hesitant to book ahead.
"Certainly post-Christmas we haven't seen forward bookings for the two long weekends as busy as last year's and it is disappointing but it is what it is," he said.
"All we can do is continue to promote the fact that the region is open, there are great things to see and do, provided you follow appropriate protocols."
He said this could be because of uncertainty around travel restrictions, the Omicron variant, and the recent lockdowns in the Auckland and Northland regions.
