Sunshine Coast residents will soon be able to fly direct to New Zealand again – potentially all year round – without having to undergo quarantine at either end.
After months of planning, abandoned deadlines, dashed hopes and lingering doubts, the much anticipated trans-Tasman travel bubble has been announced.
On Tuesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed the keenly anticipated date for the removal of quarantine for Australian travellers – April 19.
And Sunshine Coast Airport hopes to make the most of the opportunity by lobbying to turn the seasonal winter flights into a year-round service.
The travel bubble timing would be just in time for the Sunshine Coast’s annual flights to resume during the winter.
While no official announcement has been made on the number of flights or seats available, Air New Zealand is already selling direct flights to the Coast three times a week from late June 2021.
“With the previous popularity of the seasonal services between the Sunshine Coast and New Zealand, the airport hopes there is an opportunity for it to become a year-round service,” said Sunshine Coast Airport spokesperson Ayllie White.
“We know from pre-COVID that the Sunshine Coast was a sought-after destination for many New Zealanders who wanted to experience a warmer winter.
“The resumption of flights also provides an opportunity for Queenslanders to swap a surfboard for a snowboard and experience all that New Zealand has to offer in winter including the regions’ wine and food destinations.
“Sunshine Coast Airport will be working with industry tourism partners in Australia and New Zealand to encourage and promote both inbound and outbound travel.”
Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said the tourism body had been working behind the scenes on campaigns to attract Kiwis back to the Coast, including a ‘For real’ marketing strategy.
“The campaign is ideally timed, to encourage Kiwis to take a winter break and come and enjoy the breadth and depth of experiences available on the Sunshine Coast,” said Mr Stoeckel.
“In particular it highlights our natural environment which makes us such an attractive and safe destination to visit”.
“Also, over the coming months, VSC will roll out a robust industry development program “Restart -New Zealand” to maximise Sunshine Coast tourism operator readiness for the New Zealand market traveller.
“This will comprise a set of workshops and mentoring to assist Sunshine Coast operators to maximise opportunities from the New Zealand market.”
Air New Zealand’s seasonal service to the Coast began in 2012 with 5,734 passengers.
Mr Stoeckel said before the pandemic, New Zealand was the Coast’s number one international market with 84,000 annual visitors, 650,000 room nights, and an economic value of $110 million.
There were plans to increase flights between Auckland and Sunshine Coast Airport in April 2020, extending the seasonal service by ten weeks, but this was prevented by the pandemic.
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“Previously, the New Zealand holiday visitor would stay for an average of 7.9 nights, and with seasonal direct flights from Auckland, Kiwi travellers have found our climate, nature-based experiences and laid-back lifestyle particularly attractive over the winter months,” Mr Stoeckel said.
“We know there is huge pent-up demand in New Zealand for international travel and have been working in the background to prepare for the borders to reopen.
“We have a dedicated resource in New Zealand that has been developing strategies and activities for our market re-entry that will commence from tomorrow in anticipation of the first services to Australia from 18 April 2021.”
Given most Australian states have already scrapped the need for quarantine for Kiwis, the decision opens up the bubble, and returns the trans-Tasman allies to pre-COVID travel arrangements.
“We are now able to take this next step and it is a world-first,” Ms Ardern said.
The decision will delight hundreds of thousands of families separated by the pandemic.
The decision also ends a tortured 11-month journey from when the bubble was first agreed to its implementation.
Air NZ may have given the game away about when the travel bubble would start when it began selling a vastly increased number of quarantine-free flights across the Tasman from April 19.
One of the conditions of the travel bubble is a separation of airports into ‘green zones’ for quarantine-free flights and ‘red zones’ for flights carrying passengers from countries with COVID in the community.
Airport executives say they’ll be ready from mid-April, and health officials are due to inspect Auckland Airport this week with a view to clearing the country’s biggest airport for takeoff.
NZ’s national carrier reportedly hopes to fly from NZ’s three other international airports, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown but in Wellington, the issue is mired in domestic politics.
Ms Ardern’s government built enormous credibility with Kiwis in 2020 by putting a premium on public safety during the pandemic.
More than a year after the arrival of coronavirus’ arrival to Aotearoa, New Zealanders remain fearful of the return of the deadly virus.
Many do not want a bubble, even if Australia’s hotspot model has proven effective at containing outbreaks within local environments.
NZ first agreed the bubble in May after Ms Ardern attended National Cabinet, with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders.
Ms Ardern pledged to restore regular travel by September, before Melbourne’s major outbreak quashed those hopes.
In her final press conference of 2020, she declared the government’s new deadline was the end of March – only to see that timeframe sail past again.
NZ has managed to restore pre-COVID travel for one country – the Cook Islanders – but only for residents of the closely aligned Pacific nation.
-with AAP
