Faster action, more detail needed on border reopening
Thursday, 28 October 2021
More detail around border reopening plans and settings is needed to ensure the travel and tourism industries can survive and thrive, industry groups say.
New Zealand is set to start slowly reopening to the world, with Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins' announcement on Thursday of the start of the phased easing of border restrictions.
From November 14, international arrivals who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will only have to isolate for seven days in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).
The border will also be reopened for quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated travellers from low risk Pacific Island countries, such as Cook Islands, from November 8.
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Hipkins also said home isolation would be introduced in the first quarter of 2022 at the latest.
While the travel and tourism industries welcomed the move as a step in the right direction, industry representatives said more certainty and faster action was needed.
Board of Airline Representatives executive director Justin Tighe-Umbers said the relaxation of some MIQ rules reflected the reality of what was happening around the world as vaccination rates grew.
Science and risk data showed it made sense for double-vaccinated travellers with negative pre-departure tests to be able to self-isolate when hundreds of New Zealanders with Covid were already allowed to self-isolate at home, he said.
“Millions of people are already travelling all over the world with systems in place requiring pre-departure testing, electronic vaccination certificates and various means of testing and self-isolation on arrival.”
There were plenty of overseas countries for New Zealand to emulate, but the country needed to move quickly to prevent the risk of being shut out of the recovery of international travel, he said.
The rule change, which meant more aviation sector employees would be able to return to work, was a small step in the right direction, but the government needed to move faster.
“People wanting to travel to see family and friends or do business will be despondent they still have to do seven days of MIQ until sometime in the first quarter of next year,” Tighe-Umbers said.
“It would be good for them and the whole aviation system to have a firm date to work to.”
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said tourism operators needed more border certainty about the Government’s plans for reconnecting New Zealand with the world.
Tourism operators were desperate to know when they would get access to their offshore customers again, as the once-thriving industry continued to be the overlooked casualty of the pandemic, he said.
“It’s 21 months since the first border restrictions were put in place. International visitor spend was worth $48 million a day, and the cumulative loss since we closed our borders now exceeds $25 billion.”
Roberts said the resilience of tourism operators had been phenomenal, but reserves and resolve were running out.
The uncertainty over whether people would be able to travel around the country over summer was impacting bookings, and some tourism operators would not make it to Christmas or beyond, he said.
“We are ready to work with the Government to sort out the ‘complexities’, so we can safely welcome international visitors and agree on a likely timeline.
“Until then, targeted support to help tourism operators survive until our borders reopen needs to be seriously considered.”
Tourism Export Council chief executive Lynda Keene said the announcement was a positive step towards reopening the border, but they wanted to see more detail around plans and settings.
The welcoming of arrivals back in the first part of next year was encouraging, but they hoped this would soon shift to include international visitor arrivals, she said
“Achieving a full vaccination rate between 80 to 90 per cent is a target that should prompt the return of fully-vaccinated international visitors, who meet all border testing requirements, in the first part of next year.”
Keene said a set date that international visitors could return next year would help airlines put New Zealand back on their international schedules and protect the international tourism sector.
It would start the thousands of businesses whose revenue had been severely impacted by the closure of the border and lockdowns on the road to recovery, she said.
“Australia is going ‘all out’ to promote the reopening of its border, so the race is on to capture the share of long-haul visitors back down-under. We need to be in to ensure we are not disadvantaged. A set date is what we need.”