The Mackinnon Pass on the Milford Track Photo: DOC/Crystal Brindle
Tourism operators say delays to booking Great Walks will cost them much-needed work.
The Department of Conservation has abandoned its plans to open most of the Great Walks for bookings yesterday and today, citing ongoing technology issues.
Last week, the bookings system crashed for several hours after 10-thousand people tried to find a spot on the Milford Track.
Most Great Walks will open for bookings in June.
Paparoa Guided Walks operations manager Edward Cochrane says his staff were practising booking yesterday morning.
He told tourism reporter Tess Brunton it took more than half an hour of attempts before they were redirected to a new webpage detailing the delay.
DOC's booking services manager Cameron Hyland says its system vendor assured them that the issue had been resolved after changes were made, but another issue was found just before bookings opened yesterday morning.
He says bookings were postponed to minimise ongoing frustration and allow time to investigate and fix the new issue.
The department is expecting a detailed analysis from its vendor today.
