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WELLINGTON, Aug. 12 (AP) New Zealand welcomed its first returning cruise ship since the start of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, marking the country’s long-term quest to return to normal for the tourism industry.
New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it first tried to completely eliminate COVID-19 before containing its spread. Although the country reopened its borders in May to most tourists arriving by air, it only lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on arrivals by sea, two weeks ago.
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Many in the cruise industry have questioned why it took so long.
Carnival Australia’s Pacific Explorer cruise ship docked in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew on Friday morning as restrictions ended as part of a 12-day return trip from Sydney to Fiji.
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“Fantastic, isn’t it?” Tourism Secretary Stuart Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is another step in our reopening of borders and one step closer to returning to normal business.”
Nash said it would take some time for international visitor numbers and income to return to pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20 per cent of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5 per cent of gross domestic product.
“I think a lot of people in the travel industry have been trying to do that over the past two years,” Nash said. “But we’ve always taken an approach where we need to make sure we’re getting the right health response. Because if we don’t, we know the consequences are dire.”
Not everyone is happy with the return of tourists. A sailboat carrying protesters uneasy about the industry’s impact on the environment followed the Pacific Explorer into port on Friday, before passengers were greeted by Maori and a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Nash said the suspension of tourism gives the country an opportunity to reset priorities. One of them is chasing what he calls wealthier “high-quality” tourists who stay longer and have stories to tell when they return home.
“We’re not targeting people who come over and post on Facebook, ‘Hey, travel around New Zealand for $10 a day and eat noodles for 2 minutes,'” Nash said.
Another goal, he said, was to get rid of the perception that people working in the industry would suffer from long hours and low wages, and make it a more rewarding and aspirational career.
Airfare is more expensive and travelers are more risk-averse than before the pandemic, and tourist numbers are likely to remain subdued for a while, but he thinks the industry will eventually come back strong, Nash said.
“I think a market like the US is a very important market for New Zealand,” he said. “States have saved $2 trillion, more than they would have saved if it weren’t for COVID. So, there’s a little bit of money flowing around.” (The Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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