Hospitality NZ says hospitality and the economy will benefit from the removal of self-isolation for vaccinated returning Kiwis from overseas.
In a statement, HNZ said bringing the decision to drop self-isolation is a victory for common sense, considering there are now so many Omicron-infected people in the community.
“The community has become more of a risk of infecting people than are people arriving at our border, so it was a no-brainer,” the statement read.
“Till 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.
“The sector’s biggest issue since moving to the red traffic light setting has been 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.
“There is now a glimmer of hope we can begin some sort of recovery before we get too much closer to winter.
“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.
“They are a further brake on the survival of many businesses in our sector and we need to know what the threshold is so we can prepare.”
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
