Border Reopening

It is official: the New Zealand borders will soon be open for tourists. Australians can enter starting April 12 at 11:59 pm (conveniently timed with school holidays) and people from visa-waiver countries can enter starting May 2 (conveniently timed for people to take advantage of the ski season). The date for everyone else hasn’t been finalised yet.

When the government announced the reopening date was to be moved forward, I jumped on planning our annual ski trip to Queenstown to get flights and lodging sorted before additional tourists booked everything up. Flights and AirBnbs seemed to be going for about the same rates as they have in previous years, so I didn’t feel nervous about quickly paying for tickets without thinking things through. After I made my mad dash to plan this trip, however, I realised that I might have misread how people overseas feel about visiting New Zealand after two years. My assumption is that there is an appetite for big trips and that people overseas are more or less over making a big deal about covid.

Am I way off with this assumption?

I know there will be an influx of a few key groups as soon as the border opens. First, expat parents and grandparents making the trip to visit family members. The expat community has complained loudly that close family members have been locked out of the country and some groups (like work holiday visa holders) are allowed in before them. There will be a lot of happy reunions starting May 1st. The second group is trapped visa holders and their families. Some people were prohibited from entering New Zealand when the border closed because they were either on a work visa or were family members of work visa holders. While I’m sure some people have revised their plans for moving here, I’m sure there is a significant number who will be anxious to either reunite with family members or start their Kiwi adventure.

But the third group - your average tourist - I have a big question mark around. I think a lot of my fuzziness on this group is because many Kiwis (myself included) are still living a quasi-lockdown life. People are generally staying away from large gatherings, hospitality, and the indoors. It isn’t because there is a government mandate to do so like when we were under lockdown orders, but because we know that staying home means that we’re unlikely to catch covid. Staying home extends to having no interest in taking a huge trip because going in an airplane seems crazy when I don’t go into malls or restaurants these days. And yes, I’m wondering how this is going to translate when it’s time to get on our plane to Queenstown this winter.

Part of me thinks I’m putting my own stay-at-home filter on all international travellers, but part of me thinks because New Zealand has been closed off, all of a sudden its going to be a hot travel destination. Lots of people will want to explore Middle Earth. I know the tourism sector is hoping for this result, but I’m cognisant that the hospitality sector was hoping an end to lockdowns would mean a boom in business - and it hasn’t. Since covid is in the community, people are opting to stay home almost as much as if we were in lockdown.

I’m curious to know what you think. Will tourists flock to New Zealand? Or are people scared of big trips in general and New Zealand specifically right now?