Tourists arriving back in New Zealand for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began will see the "hellhole of the South Pacific" if they walk through downtown Auckland, Newshub's Patrick Gower believes.
It comes as business owners complain of rising crime in the central city, with one describing the sense of lawlessness in Auckland as "gripping".
In incidents last week, two luxury fashion stores - Louis Vuitton and Gucci - were ram raided on Queen St.
Gower, Newshub's national correspondent and former political editor, told AM it was concerning.
"Coming past the bottom of Queen St today, in some ways, it's probably good that we're not open [to tourists] because what would the American tourists be getting out to at the moment? It's sort of the hellhole of the South Pacific down there," he said on Tuesday.
"You wouldn't want to be walking out there coming from Florida with a nice little bum bag full of cash, heading out there at the moment - I'm quite serious.
"It's not good."
AM host and former political reporter Ryan Bridge agreed with Gower.
"I'm actually living down there at the moment… we don't walk at night. As soon as it gets dark, we stop walking in Auckland City."
Auckland City acting area commander Insp Grae Anderson acknowledged last week there were some "concerns" around police resources in the CBD.
"We've always been there. We've had other high-priority events that have taken us away to deal with those matters," he told RNZ. "But the moment they get freed up from those jobs they get out there and focussed on prevention activity."
New Zealand's borders reopened to Australian tourists last week and will open up to other travellers next month.
