Their spokesman, Christchurch-based Rod Griffiths, claims at least 100 drivers are prepared to hold a blockade by parking their buses across key roads.
They were ‘‘fed up'' after years of inaction over a dwindling number of overnight bus parks at the resort's hotels, and a recent clampdown on bus parking around the CBD by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
Downtown QT town centre manager Steve Wilde, who has stepped in to mediate, says a blockade is ‘‘unthinkable'' and would damage the resort's reputation.
The Bus and Coach Association says it raised the issue with the council last month and is waiting for a response.
Mr Griffiths said he and fellow drivers were angry and prepared to put their jobs on the line.
‘‘If mediation doesn't work, all hell will break loose.''
Successive councils had approved hotel development without taking bus parking into account.
Spaces for coaches in the council's Boundary St car park were limited, forcing drivers to incur fines for illegally parking on streets on the CBD fringe.
Drivers had raised the issue with the Bus and Coach Association and the Tourist Drivers' Guild as well as the council, but nothing had been done, he said.
Bus and Coach Association chief executive Barry Kidd said he only heard about the blockade threat yesterday, and was unsure how credible it was.
Parking for tour coach drivers was ‘‘challenging'' in the resort, and after receiving feedback from members late last year, the association discussed the issue with council staff last month.
He expected the council to come back with options in the next week or two.
‘‘We've got a constructive working dialogue with them and they're making progress.''
Inconveniencing the public was not the way to solve the issue, Mr Kidd said.
‘‘It's a symptom of success - we've got record tourist numbers in the country and our tourist infrastructure is straining under it,'' Mr Kidd said.
But Mr Wilde, who represents an alliance of downtown business operators, said he was taking the drivers' threat seriously.
‘‘I think their frustration has reached boiling point, and that's dangerous.
‘‘The ramifications are simply unthinkable - international headlines, tens of thousands of people disrupted and tens of millions of dollars down the drain.''
He had discussed the issue with Mayor Vanessa van Uden and council regulatory boss Lee Webster on Tuesday, and understood they were ‘‘prepared to work through the issues''.
‘‘All the parties need to get around the table - the bus companies, the hotels and the council - and talk about it.
‘‘From what I can see, and this is only anecdotal, it seems this has been ticking along for a number of years and everyone's backed themselves into corners.''
He had asked Mr Griffiths to put the blockade threat on hold and ‘‘work through a process''.
‘‘The town is 110% booked out, every bus in the country is heading our way, so I want to make sure they can get through the next two months smoothly.''
