LittleGreyCat

We will start tentative planning for a holiday starting around November 2022.
Hopefully everything will have settled down by then.

Charismatic

Australia may be about to reopen to tourism as well:
"Overseas tourists could be back within two or three weeks, the Herald Sun paper reported earlier on Sunday, citing an unnamed senior government source. An announcement from the government may come as soon as Monday..."

Only that nullifies the point of the first two stages of the reopening plan of course as New Zealanders could travel to and fro via Australia.

Justcol

Will be booking a trip to France for Oct/Nov in a couple of days.

Have watched flights on some sites go up by over $600 in the past few days

Clareuk

crazt eh how the flights have gone bananas cost wise

Charismatic

The airline seat capacity currently laid on is probably still very low so tickets are being bid up. Airlines and service providers actually downsized substantially (something like 30% of staff where cut) so now they'll have to recommission aircraft and hire rapidly as travel restrictions are dropped. Consumers have been pretty clear that 'revenge travel' will be popular.

Justcol

So traveling around freely as did pre COVID now has to have a special name. ffs Who came up with that one? 🙄
The more time I spend in it the more I'm growing to hate this modern world and it's incessant compulsion to label everything
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Beoz

There is no reason for Australia to not opening up. It's already open to family, non residents non citizens who's family live in Australia. Australia has Covid. The hospitals are working well within capacity. Importantly it needs the tourists. More importantly it needs skilled migration back. There is too much work for what's available on shore.

Pollyana

The signs are good. Even Migration Agents are gearing up for enquiries about new tourist visa applications, so everything is heading for a restart soon it seems

Beoz

I think NSW are scapping all restrictions (like mask wearing) in a few weeks. It seems to be by choice now anyway which is great. People are free to choose their own level of protection.

Charismatic

Australia pulled the trigger on full reopening so in two weeks (21st of February) it will be business as usual. New Zealands phased reopening would likely have worked better in the final quarter of last year. That strategy is now sunk.

The two remaining questions for New Zealand:
1. What date do they want to reopen.
2. If they want to discriminate against any groups for longer (e.g. visa holders, tourists etc.)

Beoz

1. Good question. The hospital system is very under nourished. 2 years to sort that out and it's still approx a 200 ICU capacity. Sounds like it's become political now. A small death toll of sorts vs people getting on with there lives.
2. I can't imagine anything other than a staggered approach.

Charismatic

Fully vaccinated New Zealanders returning from February 16th from Australia will only need to isolate for 7 days.

Clareuk

Great news -hopefully it follows on to the rest of kiwi citizens from all over the world 🙂

Charismatic

Yes, that'll be the case. By the time borders reopen New Zealand will very likely have far higher rates of Coronavirus than the countries people are travelling from.

Justcol

That'll be a lot of panadol and thoaties