New Zealand is now fully open to international visitors

New Zealand’s borders have now been fully reopened for international travellers; however, the return of international visitors is expected to start gradually following the lifting of COVID-based travel restrictions.

Reportedly, New Zealand is all set to restart welcoming international visitors, although it reported around 52538 COVID cases in the past seven days. The final phase of its borders reopening recently started with the maritime border and all overseas visitors allowed to submit visa applications.

Referring to this, Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive, Rene de Monchy anticipates that business will pick up slowly if compared to pre-COVID levels. He added that the return of international tourism will take time as people across the globe gain travel confidence, and that Tourism New Zealand is making all efforts to encourage visitation from key markets to boost the country’s tourism and support its economy.

If reports are to go by, tourist spending contributed USD 25.7 million for the country’s coffers over the 12 months up until March 2020 before COVID-19 struck.

During the same period, tourism managed to make a direct contribution to New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP), whereas now, tourism officials are hopeful that the allure of New Zealand’s scenic scenery will once once again lure tourists in the country. It’s also expected that the education sector will also return in pre-pandemic numbers.

With regard to the education sector, Principal Steven Hargreaves added that they wished they could have accepted applications months ago, so students could have started returning now. He added that they will have to do a lot of catching up if they once again want to recapture this crucial sector.