Australia

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is travelling to Australia and the United Kingdom on trade missions and King Charles’ Coronation over the next two weeks.

The importance of Australia as a trade partner for New Zealand’s tourism and other industries has been recognised as part of the 40th anniversary of the Closer Economic Relations free trade agreement between the two countries.

Key visitor experiences in Dunedin and Clutha will take the spotlight in an episode of Australian television road trip series Roads Less Travelled.

Air New Zealand is restarting its flights between Australia’s Sunshine Coast and Auckland on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 25 June.

New Zealand and Australian trade and tourism ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to boosting trans-Tasman cooperation.

Tourism Australia has launched its first global campaign since 2016 with a new 9-minute hero film, Come and Say G’day.

Kiwi tourists are not the only ones being lured across the ditch, with tourism and hospo staff sought to plug Australian labour gaps.

The sector has an opportunity to cultivate a fresh NZ story to attract Australians across the ditch.

The two airports have agreed to work together to convince airlines to fly direct.

The CEO’s first trip out of the country in three years aims to push NZ to the top of the Australian travel agenda.

Reconnecting through travel and tourism will be discussed at the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum in Sydney today.

A trade delegation will highlight NZ tourism and goods in Melbourne and Sydney.

South Australian gaming regulator Consumer and Business Services has launched a review of SkyCity Adelaide’s casino operations.

International services at Christchurch Airport will get a boost later this month with Jetstar restarting its flights from the Gold Coast on 25 June, and from Melbourne a day earlier on 24 June.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with new Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Sydney.

The tourism minister will attend TNZ’s Regional Showcase in Sydney to spread the message that NZ is open for business.

Thousands of visitors from Australia will arrive today, marking the restart of isolation-free trans-Tasman travel.

The government brings forward border reopenings for visitors from Australia and visa waiver countries like the US and UK.

A new campaign to attract Australians to New Zealand will start this week, says Tourism Minister Stuart Nash.

Fully vaccinated visitors from Australia will be allowed into New Zealand at 11.59pm on 12 April, the newspaper is reporting.

Jacinda Ardern says the govt has taken into account peak visitor times for markets like Australia, raising hopes of an imminent reopening.

Fully vaccinated international visitors can now skip managed isolation and quarantine.

New Zealand’s tourism industry needs a clear timeline from the Government on when the country’s border will open, says National’s tourism spokesperson Todd McClay.

Australia’s re-opening to international visitors in two weeks could see NZ lose market share.

Air New Zealand will cancel ‘green’ flights from Australia and prepare for managed isolation and quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel from mid-January.

A data tool for Australians considering travelling abroad ranks New Zealand as one of the ‘safest bets’ for in terms of getting past the custom gates and experiencing a level of relative freedom once there without significant exposure to Covid-19.

Quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria resumes today, Monday 1 November.

Air New Zealand has added 31 ‘red’ flights to its December schedule for customers wanting to return from Australia before the end of the year.

“People will be able to freely travel outside of Australia, with no restrictions,” says Australian tourism minister Dan Tehan.

Air New Zealand’s quarantine flights to Australia sold out within three minutes of going on sale.

And it’s “somewhat unlikely” quarantine-free travel will resume then, says finance minister Grant Robertson.

Air New Zealand will operate a second red flight from Sydney to Auckland next Wednesday 15 September.

New Zealand was a drag on earnings for a number of large Australian-based tourism and travel firms, and returning to growth will depend on the effectiveness of the vaccination programme here.

Trading conditions remain volatile due to the global impacts of Covid-19 and ongoing travel restrictions, particularly in the Australian market, says Serko.

The airline says demand may be slower to recover once trans-Tasman travel restarts.

The trans-Tasman travel bubble with all of Australia will close completely at midnight tonight.

The eight-week suspension of the trans-Tasman travel bubble had an immediate impact on operators.

From high hopes to cruel reality, operators are forced to adjust again to life under Covid.

Quarantine-free travel from all of Australia will stop for eight weeks.

SkyCity closes its Adelaide casino as the city moves into a week-long lockdown.

It will be the latest state in Australia to move into lockdown today after new community cases of Covid.

Air NZ has cancelled flights from Melbourne but is continuing to fly from NZ to the city to return visitors already here.

The travel bubble with the Australian state could pause again because of new community cases there.

Returnees will also have to go into MIQ for 14 days when the flights start on Tuesday.

The pause in quarantine-free travel from New South Wales and Queensland will continue for the time being.

But there is “no clear date” for quarantine-free travel from NSW, says Jacinda Ardern.

But quarantine-free travel from the major visitor source market of New South Wales remains suspended.

Australian spend quadrupled in Queenstown and more than doubled in Auckland and Christchurch from April to May.

Not acting would risk the domestic tourism market as well, says Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins.

The travel bubble pause allows New Zealand to work on its Covid-19 response, writes senior lecturer Matt Hobbs.