Ms Ardern, who was joined in the resort yesterday by Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, said commentary suggesting Queenstown had been "whinging" was unfair.
She expected local leaders to both advocate for and share the experiences of their region during tough times.
"New Zealand prides itself on being very upfront and honest about where we’re at and having a respectful dialogue.
"I expect no less and I would never characterise [Queenstown] in that way."
At Coronet Peak — where she also met NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult and tourism industry stalwart Sir John Davies — the prime minister said she was grateful for the sacrifices the tourism industry had made as part of the national Covid response, and acknowledged Queenstown had experienced a tough run.
"There’s very few areas where you have been as directly affected by border closures as tourism.
"I know it’s been hard, but to talk about that openly — that’s as it should have been."
Mr Nash commended Mr Boult for voicing the needs of the region and said he did not view that as whinging, rather as "very effective advocacy".
Last year’s $200million tourism communities support, recovery and reset plan, granted to the country’s hardest-hit tourism-reliant districts — half of which went to the district, along with $20 million over three years for economic transformation and resilience — was made possible by regional leadership, Mr Nash said.
"That came about because of the advocacy of the mayors of the region saying we need to work together to find a solution to keep these businesses alive, to keep the employees engaged."
Ms Ardern also indicated the Government was taking a different approach to marketing working holiday visas globally in an effort to combat labour crises, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industries.
"We traditionally have not marketed working holiday visas for New Zealand, but these are unprecedented times," she said.
"New Zealand has a significant amount to offer — Queenstown even more so."
The Government was encouraging Immigration New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand to work together to market in Australia and also tap into countries such as Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan and the Netherlands, where 75% of working holiday visa-holders were eligible to enter New Zealand now, Ms Ardern said.
Mr Nash said building up the labour force would be gradual, but given expectations New Zealand’s tourist influx would not match pre-Covid numbers for at least three or four years, there was time.
"We build up the workforce as tourist numbers build, so I don’t think people need to be particularly worried about being completely inundated."
While border closures had forced Queenstown to consider industries other than mass tourism, the focus should be on building resilience in the local economy.
"We’re working very closely with the mayor’s office and thought leaders across the region to see what that looks like.
"The Government’s put a plan together to specifically build resilience outside of tourism, but ... this will always be one of the premier tourist destinations in the world."
Earlier in the day Ms Ardern and Mr Nash met representatives of Queenstown’s tourism operators and business community.
