Two companies are bringing close to 300 schoolies to Queenstown this weekend, but a third company has pulled out, citing lack of interest from the Australian high school leavers.
Two companies are set to bring to the resort groups of 16- to 18-year-olds this weekend.
They are Cutting Edge Adventures Australia's "Queenstown Schoolies" trip and Sure Thing Schoolies.
I Like To Party, the third company organising schoolies trips to Queenstown, yesterday told the Otago Daily Times it had cancelled a trip also intended to arrive this weekend.
Director Quentin Nolan said insufficient bookings meant the week-long trip and another planned to arrive on December 3 had been cancelled.
"I think it's a really good initiative ... so it's something we will be looking to pursue again in the future," he said.
Schoolies teenagers make headlines every year for arrests, binge-drinking and drug use during the annual week-long end-of-exams partying, which means the Gold Coast is swamped with about 30,000 youths.
Media reports said Sure Thing Schoolies was bringing more than 250 teenagers to Queenstown this weekend. A spokesman for the company could not be contacted yesterday.
Cutting Edge director Tim Jones yesterday confirmed he would arrive with 44 schoolies tomorrow for a "wholesome" trip, which would have participants going on adventure activities each day.
Destination Queenstown chief executive Tony Everitt said he was not aware of 250 extra teenagers in addition to the 44 confirmed, but was not concerned if that was the case.
"It's just part of the usual youth market who travel to Queenstown along with thousands and thousands of other youth travellers each year, and we hope the kids have a great time," Mr Everitt said.
"The term schoolies is probably a bit deceptive as it bears no resemblance to what happens with the Gold Coast."
According to AAP, more than 100 charges had been laid against schoolies in Australia in a few days. Schoolies arrests just on the Gold Coast had totalled 86 in less than a week on 101 charges, with an additional 243 infringement notices issued.
