Today’s announcements about New Zealand’s borders fully re-opening on 31 July and packages to support the tourism sector’s rebuild should be great news for Rotorua, Mayor Steve Chadwick says.

Cruise ships will also be able to come to New Zealand again from 31 July, the Government announced.

“This will be great news to Rotorua tourism and hospitality operators and while we may not be flooded with overseas visitors immediately, it will be a quicker resumption than previously anticipated with the Government bringing the border re-opening forward by two months.

“We can’t expect it all to happen at once but it will build up,” the Mayor says.

“Cruise ships docking in Tauranga have been a significant market for us and it will be great to be able to welcome cruise ship visitors once again.

“While, sadly, we have lost some operators as a result of the pandemic, we also have some new offerings for visitors and we look forward to sharing these and our redeveloped lakefront and additional forest facilities with tourists.

“It’s been a long haul, we’ve done it tough and we’re certainly not out of the woods yet. However, we’ve had a good boost from our domestic markets in recent times, like during the Easter break, and we look forward to once again welcoming overseas visitors and rebuilding our tourism sector.”

Mayor Chadwick also welcomed recognition of the need to enable the rebuilding of tourism and hospitality workforces by relieving the added financial pressure of median wage requirements. The Government has agreed to exempt tourism and hospitality businesses, temporarily, from paying the median wage to recruit migrants

“Allowing a lower wage threshold will provide some relief for a period of time as tourism and hospitality gear up again,” the mayor says.

See the Government’s announcement HERE

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