Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has announced that she hopes to reopen the country’s borders from next month; she stated that they are “ready to welcome the world back”.
Jacinda Ardern continued,
“We have now received guidance that it is safe to significantly bring forward the next stage of border reopening work, bringing back our tourists”
Tourism Decline Since Pandemic
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, international tourism accounted for $11.5 billion towards New Zealand’s GDP, but now that 95% of New Zealand’s vaccine eligible population have had the Covid-19 vaccine, Ardern hopes to be able to reopen the country’s borders. Jacinda Ardern, stated:
“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,”
The Rules
From Wednesday 13th April, Australian tourists will be free to travel to New Zealand without needing to quarantine. Furthermore, those in possession of a temporary work and student visa will now be able to travel to and from the country.
Speaking of the new rule, Prime Minister, Arden, stated:
“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,”
Rules From May
From Monday 2nd May, New Zealand’s border will be reopening to:
- Visa-waiver travellers
- Existing (onshore and offshore) holders of valid visitor visas
- Those with a temporary visitor or guardian visa and who are in New Zealand but wish to leave the country can now do so, permitting their visa conditions allow this.
Those who are eligible to travel to New Zealand but have not had their Covid-19 vaccine will have to stay in a Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) upon arrival. You must take confirmation of your Managed Isolation Allocation booking before boarding your flight.
Ardern spoke of the new rules allowing tourists to travel more freely, she stated:
“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-19,”
Are you hoping to travel to New Zealand this year? Let us know in the comments below.
