By Dave Goosselink
Queenstown is open for winter. Well that's the message the resort's sending to the rest of the world with tonight's opening of its 36th Winter Festival.
Tens of thousands of tourists are expected to pour into Queenstown in the next week or so, there'll be the usual madcaps up on the snow but that's now only a part of what's become the biggest and longest outdoor winter party in Australasia.
The snow has arrived, and now the visitors are too. Over 40,000 are expected to the region over the next 10 days, as Queenstown flicks the switch on its annual winter season.
“This is basically when we announce to the rest of the world, especially East Coast Australia and New Zealand, that Queenstown’s open for winter,” says Simon Green, organiser of the Queenstown Winter Festival.
“All the mountains are all go, the snow's great, and we're really the party that kicks it all off.”
A good dusting of snow down to lake level has come just at the right time for the Winter Festival.
It's now in its 36th year, with additions like a floating stage on the waterfront aimed at helping accommodate the continued growth.
Businessman Sir Eion Edgar has watched the event grow over the years, and says there's a positive buzz around the town.
“I think it’s a wonderful way to kick off the winter season, because the winter season is very important to New Zealand generally.
The festival's worth around $45 million to the resort's economy
It's become one of the Southern Hemisphere biggest winter parties, ranked as one of the world's “top 10 must-see festivals” by an Australian website.
It's those Aussies that have helped keep the town humming through the economic downturn.
“Australians have really got us through probably the brunt of the economic crisis,” says Tony Everitt, of Destination Queenstown.
“So now what we're actually starting to do now that things are looking a little bit better in the Northern Hemisphere, North America and Asia anyway, is to start to rebuild those markets for the years ahead.”
Reason enough for the region's 20,000-odd residents to join in the party, welcoming in what's expected to be a strong winter season.
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