It’s Wednesday, and the news that will reach the most operators today did not come from a minister or a trade body. It came from a pop-up on a Facebook page. Here’s what’s moving.
Meta starts charging business pages to post links, up to $883 a month for unlimited use
Meta has begun rolling out Meta One, a subscription for Facebook and Instagram business pages, and it takes away something most small businesses have treated as free: the ability to post links to their own website. RNZ reported this morning that on the free plan, and on the entry-level “Essential” plan at US$14.99 (about NZ$26) a month, a page can now include links in only two organic posts or comments a month. Beyond that, the tiers are US$49.99 (NZ$88) for eight links, US$149.99 (NZ$265) for 20, and US$499.99 (NZ$883) for unlimited links. Putting the link in the comments, a common workaround, also counts. Meta began the rollout globally on 15 September, but gradually, so many pages have not yet seen the change.
Technology correspondent Bill Bennett told RNZ the charges could put some very small New Zealand businesses out of business, and called the top tier excessive. The detail matters for tourism because so many small operators, from one-vehicle tour businesses to cafes and boutique stays, use a Facebook post with a booking link as their main way of reaching customers. Posts made up of photos and video are not limited, and nor are links to Instagram or Threads. What is limited is sending people somewhere you can take their money.
The arithmetic is simple. At NZ$883 a month, unlimited links cost NZ$883 x 12 = NZ$10,596 a year. Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas said the lesson is to own your own website, customer database and email list rather than rent an audience from a platform that sets its own rules. For an operator with two links a month to spend, the choice now is which two posts most deserve one.
Stat of the day
2
The number of posts or comments with links a Facebook or Instagram business page can now publish each month on Meta's free plan. Unlimited links cost US$499.99, about NZ$883, a month. (RNZ)
Source: RNZ
International business event delegates rise 28.5 percent in August, and are now a quarter above 2019
Business Events Industry Aotearoa said on Monday that 8,212 international delegates came to New Zealand for business events in August, 28.5 percent more than in August 2025 and 24.6 percent more than in August 2019. Working back from those percentages, that is roughly 6,390 delegates in August last year and about 6,590 in August 2019. Australia supplied 4,874 of them, up 14.4 percent, which is 59 percent of the total (4,874 / 8,212). China, Japan and Korea were next.
The comparison with the wider market is the interesting part. Stats NZ’s figures last week put all overseas visitor arrivals in August at 99 percent of the 2019 level. Business events delegates are well past that, which makes them one of the few segments that has more than recovered. They also tend to arrive on weekdays and outside the summer peak, which is when venues, hotels and transport operators have spare capacity.
BEIA chief executive Lisa Hopkins said the organisation is conservatively projecting about 70,000 domestic and international delegates at business events between October and December, and expects a significant number of international delegates in February 2027.
Source: CIM Business Events, Stats NZ
Queenstown Airport’s chief executive takes the chair of NZ Airports, and Christchurch is named large airport of the year
NZ Airports, the industry association for the country’s airports, has appointed Queenstown Airport chief executive Shane O’Hare as its chair for a two-year term. He joined Queenstown Airport in September 2025 from Launceston Airport in Australia, and has earlier roles at Melbourne Airport, Qantas and Etihad. In the announcement he named reliable regional connections and resilient infrastructure as his priorities. That matters in a month when Auckland Airport’s own figures show regional seats down 9 percent on a year ago.
The association’s 20th annual awards were presented last night at the NZ Airports Hui in Wellington. Christchurch Airport was named Large Airport of the Year and also won the large airport sustainability award for its Kōwhai Park solar farm, built with Contact Energy and Lightsource bp. Hawke’s Bay Airport was recognised across five entries in the medium category. In the small category the Chatham Islands Airport was recognised for its longer and stronger runway and terminal redevelopment, which matters a great deal to a visitor economy that depends on a single air link. Wellington Airport won two awards for the arresting system at the end of its runway, and Auckland Airport’s commercial award went to its Shanghai to Auckland to Buenos Aires connecting corridor.
Source: NZ Airports via Scoop (appointment), NZ Airports via Scoop (awards)
The Kawarau Gorge Trail opens only in part this Sunday, with the full trail now due late in the year
The Kawarau Gorge Trail was meant to open in full over Labour Weekend, with a community ride from Gibbston to Cromwell. The Southern Lakes Trails Trust has now delayed the full opening, and says it expects it late in 2026. From Sunday 25 October, only the Cromwell end will be open, from the Cromwell Heritage Precinct to Pioneer Bridge near the Goldfields Mining Centre. The section between Pioneer Bridge and Gibbston stays closed while construction finishes, and the trust says there is no public access to the closed section.
The finished trail matters because it is the missing link. Once it is complete, it will join Queenstown’s trails to the rest of the Otago cycle trail network, making a connected network of more than 550 kilometres. The trust describes it as challenging, with long grade 3 sections and a remote 13-kilometre middle stretch with no other way out, so it is not for beginners or young children. Anyone who has sold or planned a Gibbston to Cromwell ride for this summer should check the dates again: this weekend’s opening covers the Cromwell end only.
Source: Otago Trails (Southern Lakes Trails Trust notice, updated 12 October)
Canterbury told to prepare for a dry, windy El Niño summer, with more rain in the Alps
Environment Canterbury has told residents and businesses to prepare for a strengthening El Niño, which could bring dry conditions and strong northwesterly winds to Banks Peninsula, North Canterbury and the Canterbury Plains over the coming months. The council lists the risks as water shortages, wildfires, low river flows and toxic algal blooms, and says it is preparing for irrigation restrictions, marine heatwaves and wildfire risk in its regional parks.
The other half of the forecast matters to anyone who takes visitors onto water. More rain than usual is forecast in the Southern Alps, so alpine-fed rivers such as the Waimakariri and Rangitata can rise quickly even when it is sunny downstream. Operators who run on rivers, lakes or in regional parks should check flood warnings and fire restrictions before each trip this summer, not just at the start of the season. Low lowland rivers and algal blooms also tend to close swimming spots in the busiest weeks of the year.
Source: Environment Canterbury via Scoop
Coming up
- 22 October (tomorrow): Last day of the Great Wine Capitals conference in Hawke’s Bay, and Lyttelton’s 2026-27 cruise season opens
- 24-26 October: Buses replace all Metlink trains in the Wellington region over Labour Weekend
- 25 October: The Kawarau Gorge Trail opens in part, Cromwell to Pioneer Bridge, and the airlines’ summer scheduling season begins
- 26 October: Labour Day, and Air New Zealand’s first Auckland to Western Sydney service
- 28 October: Reserve Bank OCR decision, and Air New Zealand’s first Christchurch to Singapore service
- 1 November: Backcountry Hut Tickets move to DOC’s online booking system
- 4 November: Tourism Summit Aotearoa and the NZ Tourism Awards, Te Pae Christchurch
- 7 November: General election
- 14 November: Contractors start on the Hahei Beach Short Walk reroute
- Mid-December: Target settlement of SkyCity’s sale of The Grand Hotel
- Late 2026: Full opening of the Kawarau Gorge Trail, Gibbston to Cromwell
- 7 April 2027: Air New Zealand’s codeshare with Qantas ends
- 1 July 2027: New Border Processing Levy rates take effect, with arriving cruise passengers paying $7.20
That's today's briefing. The Shoulder Season is back every weekday morning.