
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the 15th
Arrival of Australian tourists on April 12. Other visa-free countries from May
Protesters against the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine pass are confronting the police in Wellington, New Zealand on the 2nd. New Zealand has succeeded in quarantine to such an extent that less than 100 deaths out of a population of 5 million have occurred due to strict border controls and blockades from the beginning of the Corona 19 outbreak, but the situation is getting worse due to the recent spread of omicron mutations. 2022.03.02.[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Cha Mi-rye = New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed the return of tourists from all over the world on the 15th, saying that most of New Zealands tourism industry will welcome most tourists by May due to the lifting of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. said to do
With this announcement, tourists from the US, Canada, UK and most of Europe will be able to visit New Zealand on a date much earlier than the date announced in October last year.
About 2% of New Zealands foreign currency imports come from foreign tourists, accounting for 5% of its gross domestic product.
However, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealand had some of the strictest border controls in the world, which completely evaporated tourism revenue. The quarantine policy was initially evaluated as having the effect of saving the lives of thousands of New Zealanders and ending multiple coronavirus pandemics.
But now, the omicron mutant virus has spread across the country, so border closures and regulations are largely useless.
Prime Minister Ardern said the lifting of tourism restrictions would significantly boost New Zealands economy. Thanks to the border closure that started two years ago, the reopening of the tourism industry will be a catalyst for economic recovery by the end of this year.
According to a new timetable, Australian tourists will be allowed to enter from April 12, while tourists from other visa-free countries will be able to come from 1 May. In other countries, such as India and China, which are not visa-exempt countries, you may have to wait a little longer to enter the country even if your visitor visa is still valid.
Tourists must be vaccinated and can travel only if the test result is negative just before leaving their country and immediately after arriving in New Zealand.
Ardern said he had heard how hard the tourism industry and its workers had been through the past two years, saying it was not just because tourism revenues fell sharply, but also because of the loss of an important industry that identifies New Zealands identity.
New Zealand is world famous for its beautiful scenery and various adventure tourism, and various travel plans are underway for the upcoming winter skiing tour in the southern hemisphere.
In the past two weeks, New Zealand recorded about 20,000 new cases a day, the highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins became the last high-ranking public official to be diagnosed with the coronavirus on the 15th.
However, experts predict that omicron infections here will soon peak and decline, as in many other countries.