Hope Down Under: The World saw New Zealand's border reopening from a different angle Photo / Wellington International Airport
Hope Down Under: The World saw New Zealand's border reopening from a different angle Photo / Wellington International Airport
New Zealand has set dates for the return of international Tourism and the world again is dreaming of all things manuka, merino wool and Milford sounds.
Wednesday's announcement by the Prime Minister was greeted by travellers around the world with enthusiasm but for many it remains a distant prospect.
With tourists from Australia being welcomed into the country from April 13, and dozens of visa-waiver countries from May 2, the news has been felt in different ways around the world. If it featured at all.
France's Le Figaro has called it "A return to Paradise in the Pacific" and America's CNN is still preoccupied with the Chatham Islands' over-tourism problem. Meanwhile, India's Hindustan Times has highlighted the fact that tourists from India and China will have to wait until at least October to plan a tour of Aotearoa.
More tellingly, in some countries, which would qualify under the visa waiver programme, the opening of 'Fortress New Zealand' barely features at all.
Australian tourists will be able to enter the country in a matter of weeks, from April 13. For pundits across the ditch, the date is most immediate and reception mostly positive.
: "New Zealand backflips on Aussie border opening date" saying that Aussies will be the first to hit the ski slopes after the border opening was brought forward by 12 weeks.
The Sydney Morning Herald highlighted the move to accelerate reopening as the New Zealand government capitulating to "relentless pressure in recent months to fully open the border."
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern discussess new arrival protocols at Auckland International Airport. Photo / Getty Images
While the rest of the world might confuse our two countries New Zealand was a place Aussies had a unique appreciation for. "We're same-same. So many shared cultural touchstones. So many mutual characteristics. But then, of course, we're also different."
The Daily Mail Australia unabashedly ran an entire picture story on the
as a "reminder of the mesmerising 'Middle-earth' landscapes awaiting tourists when New Zealand opens its borders in April."
There was some nervousness that the border might slam shut, as it did during the short-lived 'Bubble' last year. However, Tourism New Zealand's Adam Waddell told breakfast TV show Studio 10 that New Zealand was all in on reopening.
The United States
American media has picked up on the quirkier sides of a holiday to Aotearoa. CNN's Travel News highlighted reports of
, including the Chatham Islands' excessive popularity with Kiwis exploring their "own backyard" and Tourism New Zealand's anti-social media advert which ironically "went viral".
The Washington Post welcomed the news but also pointed to the fact that the American CDC "moved New Zealand to its highest warning level for travel last week" over
exclaimed "There's hope down under." The paper welcomed the end of MIQ and New Zealand's harsh zero-Covid strategy, saying "even Kiwis themselves have found it difficult to return to their homeland due to a limited hotel quarantine system."
Ready for a return: Family members wait at Wellington Airport for the return of Australian flights, last year. Photo / Wellington International Airport
Europe
France's Le Figaro welcomed the news that New Zealand would accelerate opening to tourists from the European Union. Figaro
"Tourists from non-waiver countries — including India and China — will need to wait longer, unless they already have valid visitor visas," it wrote. Although there was a possibility that the proposed October reopening may be brought forward.
In China, the news barely registered, with some wires reporting of the border opening in English-speaking publications including the Shanghai Morning Post.
