Four weeks after the November 14 earthquake in Kaikōura, the nearby tourist hotspot Hanmer Springs is still looking like a ghost town.
Hanmer's famous hot pools has cut the price of a family pass in half, hoping to encourage local tourism and get people back through the doors into the thermal springs.
While the township benefits from visiting tourists, it's the Christchurch market - the families coming on holiday - that it relies on the most.
"It's crucial that over summer we get the family market back, especially from Christchurch, we really do rely on that family market over summer to help the whole village," Thermal Pools and Spa marketing manager Shane Adcock says.
Hanmer Springs is 130km from Christchurch and just 20km from the November 14 earthquake epicentre, but it is virtually unscathed.
A week after the quake, the tourist village emptied out - losing more than half its visitors. After a month, the township remains deadly quiet.
"They have had less damage than everyone thinks, but a lot more reduction in their tourism than we would hope," outgoing Tourism Minister John Key says.
It's concerning for the Canterbury town which was unscathed by the quake.
A wage subsidy package of $500 per week for a full-time employees and $300 for part-timers was recently extended to Kaikōura businesses. An eight week package was also extended to businesses in Hanmer Springs and the Hurunui region, which can prove a sudden, large and sustained drop in revenue.
Newshub.
