Australians will be able to come to New Zealand without isolating from April 13 and visitors from other countries in the weeks following.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made an announcement on new border dates late this morning with Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, who appeared by Zoom. Nash is isolating because some household members have Covid-19.
She said the border was already open to New Zealanders - and on Monday eligible critical workers were allowed in without isolating.
From 11.59pm on Tuesday, 12 April, vaccinated Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand isolation-free. Two and a half weeks later from 11.59am on Sunday, May 1, vaccinated travellers from visa-waiver countries such as the large tourist markets of the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Germany, Korea and Singapore, and those with valid visitor visas, will be able to arrive.
Tourists will not need to isolate on arrival; they will be required to have had a pre-departure test, with two further rapid antigen tests on day 0/1 and 5/6.
“Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop Covid-19 two years ago. It did the job we needed. But now that we’re highly vaccinated and predicted to be off our Omicron peak, it’s now safe to open up,” Ardern said.
“Reopening in time for the upcoming Australian school holidays will help spur our economic recovery in the short term and is good news for the winter ski season. Trans-Tasman travellers have historically made up 40 per cent of our international arrivals, with around 1.5 million Australians visiting each year.
“While we know it will take some time to see tourism scale up again, today’s announcement will be a welcome boost for our tourism operators who have done it harder than many over the last two years.
“In a world still battling Covid-19, travellers will be discerning about where they go in the short term. Our strong health response including the lowest death rate in the OECD over the past two years and our high rates of vaccination, alongside our reputation as a beautiful place to visit, will be an asset in this market.
“I am proud that New Zealand is a country which is able to provide a safe place for tourists to return to due to our strong health response to Covid."
Today's announcement is a significant change to the plan set out earlier this year, which was for vaccinated travellers from Australia and visa-waiver countries to come in by July, and those from the rest of the world from October.
Kiwis returning from overseas are already able to return without isolating, provided they test negative, but the new dates will see the start of tourism and business travel again.
The Prime Minister said today the Government wanted to clearly signal that New Zealand was keen to supercharge its economic recovery and that it was a safe place to visit.
"We can plan with greater certainty... In short, we're ready to welcome the world back."
Ardern had said in February that the re-opening dates would be brought forward if it was viable - and that would depend on when the Omicron outbreak peaked.
Airlines and tourism groups have been increasingly worried that the longer it took to reopen after Covid-19, tourism and hospitality businesses would suffer irreparable harm, particularly if self-isolation requirements remained.
However, as the Omicron outbreak rapidly overtook infection rates of new arrivals the Government dropped self-isolation requirements for returning New Zealanders and had been considering those impacts in its decision on when to open up further.
There were 17 Covid cases reported at the border on Tuesday, a slight increase from before the MIQ changes at the end of February, despite arrivals roughly quadrupling.
Opposition parties have questioned whether the Government is ready for the re-opening, saying lingering Covid restrictions could dampen enthusiasm to travel here.
Act Party leader David Seymour said the remaining rules would be impossible to enforce with tourists.
"Vaccine passes, isolation, importing Rapid Antigen Tests, and QR codes will look quaint to people from countries that have already moved on, and trying to enforce them will only show how nonsensical our own rules are. We will now have a situation where a tourist with a negative test is free to get the first taxi out of Auckland Airport, but a household contact has to isolate for seven days. Opening the border makes our isolation rules look stupid, because they are."
The day we've been waiting for - Air NZ
Air New Zealand's chief executive officer Greg Foran says it's the day New Zealand has been waiting for and the airline is ready and waiting to reconnect friends and whānau from Australia from Wednesday, April 13.
“It’s no secret the past two years have been extremely turbulent for people. There’s a real buzz today. New Zealand holds a special place in many people’s hearts, whether they’re a Kiwi or visitor, touching down on New Zealand soil will be a moment to remember.
“It’s also been incredibly hard for our tourism operators around the country. Today’s announcement will help them get back to what they do best - welcoming international visitors to Aotearoa."
Foran said flights across the Tasman have been particularly popular, especially over the Easter period where Air New Zealand has added more than 90 flights to keep up with demand.
“Pre-Covid-19, Australia was the largest tourism market for both our airline and New Zealand. We know a lot of tourism operators have been missing international visitors, so we’re looking forward to playing our role in New Zealand’s recovery.
“On our long-haul network, we’re seeing particular interest in journeys from North America around the July holiday period. It’s a sign that tourists still have New Zealand at the top of their bucket list.”
Air New Zealand has more than 50 flights per week on its 15 international routes and will adjust capacity to meet demand in the coming months as New Zealand heads into the winter season.
With border restrictions starting to ease, the airline said it was "thrilled to begin to rebuild its aircrew whānau".
In the six months since October 2021, Air New Zealand said it had rehired around 700 flight attendants and pilots with more opportunities on the horizon over the next six months when international passenger flying starts to increase.
New tourism campaign
The tourism industry is gearing up for the reopening, including Tourism New Zealand launching a new ad campaign.
Working Holiday Visa holders and some skilled workers can now enter New Zealand with no self-isolation requirements.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokeswoman Ann-Marie Johnson said they would provide a welcome boost to the industry.
"Tourism was the first industry to be affected by the pandemic and will be the last to recover," she said.
"We are heartened that the Government has signalled that our borders are likely to open to international visitors sooner than planned and we are keen to see the new timeline which is expected imminently."
Reopening to Australian visitors in time for their April school holiday period which includes Easter would be ideal, she said.
- ODT Online and NZ Herald
