Trish Brice, left, is looking forward to visiting family in Napier with husband Richard Brice and daughter Amelie. Photo / Supplied
Trish Brice, left, is looking forward to visiting family in Napier with husband Richard Brice and daughter Amelie. Photo / Supplied
Napier's calling.
Melbourne woman Trish Brice is excited to reunite with her family after more than a year.
She's missed the funerals of loved ones, and been holed up in lockdown wishing she was here.
Brice is one of roughly half-a-million Kiwis in Australia who have been waiting with anticipationfor news of the transtasman bubble opening.
The opening of the bubble on April 19 means she's now hopeful she will be able to meet her cousin's new baby due in July and reunite with family she hasn't seen since January 2020.
Brice has been living overseas since 2008, in Singapore for three years and now in Melbourne.
But all of her family live in Napier and much of her husband's family also live in New Zealand, meaning regular trips back were the norm before Covid-19 struck.
Before the bubble was announced she had already booked a "very expensive" flight and MIQ for July for herself, but news of the bubble means she can also bring her daughter to see her nan, poppa, cousins and extended family.
Prior to Covid-19 the family would visit New Zealand three to four times a year, sometimes for an extended time over summer.
Brice said the lockdown was "really tough" - she and her husband suffered bereavements and it was "very hard" not being able to travel home for funerals.
"As a Melburnian who endured a long and very restrictive lockdown, it was hard not knowing when I would see my family again."
She said while it seemed unfair New Zealanders could travel to much of Australia quarantine-free, she had held on to hope that the bubble would eventually open when the New Zealand Government viewed the risk as acceptable.
Hawke's Bay Tourism chief executive Hamish Saxton said the prospect of a transtasman bubble is "very exciting" for the local visitor economy. Photo / Supplied
Hawke's Bay Tourism CEO Hamish Saxton said the bubble is "very exciting" for the local visitor economy and for anyone with family or friends they've been unable to see until now.
Before Covid-19 in the 12 months to February 2020, the Australian market was the region's fourth-largest visitor market behind Auckland, Wellington and Manawatu/Whanganui.
He said while it is a valuable market, it is not the single most important one as Hawke's Bay is a destination with "huge" domestic appeal.
However, while the region has been successful in attracting domestic visitors, a transtasman bubble could likely be "a real shot in the arm" for operators who are suffering or expecting to suffer the impact of having no international tourists over winter.
Saxton said data from Tourism New Zealand suggests the first motivator for Australian travel will be to visit friends and family, then as comfort grows, leisure-driven travel will return.
"Given Kiwis' love for Hawke's Bay, we are likely to see Australian visitors who are coming home or travelling across the ditch and joining their friends and family in food and wine country."
Hawke's Bay Tourism's public relations and trade marketing work with Australian companies and contacts has continued despite Covid. The regional tourism body will also work with Tourism New Zealand to promote the region to the Australian market.
