Aucklanders are counting down the hours to escape the city limits, but Northland businesses are well aware this summer will be a different kettle of fish.
Pre-Covid-19, domestic tourists spent $850 million a year in Te Tai Tokerau, and 60 percent of that money was from Aucklanders.
Cater Marine in Ōpua is one business that relies on the summer rush, selling fishing gear, boating equipment, hardware and clothes.
The business also served a combination of customers from 600 international boats coming into the marina annually pre-pandemic, and domestic boaties chasing the sunshine, but this year manager Dan Cleaver isn't seeing much of either.
Already some regulars tell him they're off south these holidays, to the likes of Coromandel and Hawke's Bay instead.
"We're predicting we're going to be 30 or 40 percent down on last year, which - without the international boats arriving - was down on the year before as well," he said.
"So it's starting to hurt a wee bit."
Bay of Islands Kiwi Holiday Park has taken a firm stance against unvaccinated visitors, which has led to a few angry emails.
"It's funny because for every cancellation we're getting about three or four confirmed bookings," manager Ray Hosking said.
Bookings suggest the park will be full with more than 800 people at the New Year.
"So we're more than happy with that. People were happy that we'd taken the stance on the 'no vaxed' and they feel safe here, and that's why they're coming."
But he has lost cleaning staff to the mandate: "As of the 15th, we're looking for new cleaners... We can't keep them on."
Far North district councillor Kelly Stratford (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi) said businesses had realistic expectations.
"Last year a lot of places up had a really good summer considering what Covid did, taking all the international visitors away. We had at least had our domestic tourism market but we won't be counting on that this summer, unfortunately."
So far, 87 percent of Te Tai Tokerau's eligible population has had one Pfizer dose and 81 percent have had two.
But the government has made it clear these numbers must be much higher, for Northland to join the rest of the country in orange.
