Premier Jacinda Ardern has said that New Zealand is “prepared to welcome the world back,” with the majority of visitors expected to be able to return by May as the country continues to lift its coronavirus restrictions.
The statement moved the date on which visitors from nations such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and most of Europe may visit from the previously scheduled date of October to a date in September.
International tourism used to account for over 20% of New Zealand’s foreign revenue and more than 5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
However, as soon as the epidemic started, New Zealand implemented some of the world’s most stringent border restrictions, and tourism almost disappeared.
It was originally believed that the measures had saved thousands of lives and that they had enabled New Zealand to terminate or limit many epidemics.
Although the omicron variety has already spread across the nation, the border constraints are no longer as essential as they were before.
Ardern said that the measure will have a positive impact on the economy.
According to her, “closing our border was one of the first acts we took to halt Covid-19 more than two years ago, and its reopening will accelerate our economic recovery for the rest of the year.”
Tourists from nations that are not included in the waiver — such as India and China — would have to wait longer unless they already have valid visiting visas to the United States.
Vaccination and testing negative for the virus are required before leaving the country of origin and again after arrival in New Zealand for tourists to enter the country.
In her speech, Ardern added, “I know from visiting tourist companies and talking to their workers how difficult these last two years have been.”
“And not just because of the tremendous loss of tourist earnings, but also because we have lost something from which we gained so much of our identity,” says the author of the article.
Aesthetically pleasing landscape and adrenalin-inducing adventure tourism are two of New Zealand’s most well-known attractions.
As ski resorts prepare for the forthcoming winter season in the Southern Hemisphere, the news comes as welcome relief for them.
According to Ann-Marie Johnson, a spokesman for Tourism Industry Aotearoa, “Tourism operators have finally received assurance that they may resume operations.”
« Tourism was the first sector to be adversely impacted by the epidemic and will be the last to recover from it. Both major and small tourism enterprises have made significant sacrifices, and they can now concentrate on restoring their operations.”
The country of New Zealand has been reporting over 20,000 new virus cases every day for the last few of weeks, marking the country’s largest epidemic since the pandemic started. Chris Hipkins, the nation’s Covid-19 Response Minister, became the fourth high-profile individual to test positive with the virus on Wednesday.
Experts, on the other hand, believe that the omicron epidemic will diminish swiftly from its zenith, as it has in many other nations.