Five More Months Of Locked Border Will See More Needless Casualties, Says Hospitality NZ

Delaying the opening of New Zealand’s border to foreign nationals till April 30 will see more hospitality businesses going to the wall, says Hospitality New Zealand.

“It’s inevitable more businesses, many of them family-owned, will fail over the next five months without foreign tourists,” says Chief Executive Julie White.

“Many simply won’t survive on domestic tourism alone.

“I’m completely baffled as to why our borders can’t be opened to tested and vaccinated people from safe countries well before then.

“That would give them the same status as more than 90% of Kiwis, and hopefully more.

“At the very least, why can’t we open the trans-Tasman bubble to Australians?

“They’re just as safe as we are.

“Some states have fewer cases of Covid than we do, but still we block entry to them at a time when the hospitality and tourism industries – as well as the broader economy – need all the help they can get.

“I have yet to see a reason why we have to wait this long.

“There will be needless casualties over the next five months because of this approach.”

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