The hospitality sector and the economy as a whole will benefit from the removal of self- isolation for vaccinated Kiwis returning from overseas.
“Bringing this forward is a victory for common sense, considering there are now so many Omicron-infected people in the community,” expressed Hospitality NZ Chief Executive, Julie White.
“The community has become more of a risk of infecting people than people arriving at our border, so it was a no-brainer. Until now, many Kiwis wanting to return or visit family have been reluctant to do so by having to spend seven days isolating, so this is a turning point.
“Now we need them come back and get out to enjoy our great hospitality and accommodation offering.”
White added that the sector’s biggest issue since moving to the red traffic light setting has been that people have been scared to go out, so having Kiwis back here who are used to living with Omicron will hopefully make a big difference.
“They will show us how to live safely with it and there is now a glimmer of hope we can begin some sort of recovery before we get too much closer to winter,” continued White.
“Next, we need a plan around the threshold for opening our borders to tourists, and doing away with vaccine passes and limits on the number of people allowed at venues. With Omicron becoming so widespread and vaccination rates very high, those measures are fast becoming ineffective. We need to know what the threshold is so we can prepare.”
