Darling Downs residents jump on board the trans-Tasman travel bug
Hundreds of Toowoomba residents are eagerly making plans to explore the sights and sounds across the ditch as the trans-Tasman travel bubble comes into play later this month.
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WENDY Allen’s phone was ringing non-stop with holiday planners eager to make the most of Jacinda Ardern’s recent trans-Tasman travel bubble announcement.
“I spent most of Wednesday on the phone to people who wanted to plan everything from the flights, to the car hire, accommodation and most people were really keen to book tours,” she said.
With quarantine-free travel from Australia due to start from Monday, April 19 the Toowoomba travel agent said people were getting in as soon as they could to take up the opportunity to travel abroad once more.
“With people being landlocked in Australia for so long I think most of us are excited at the prospect of exploring another country again,” she said.
Prior to COVID-19, Australia was New Zealand’s largest international visitor market, accounting for almost half of all international visitor arrivals and spent $2.7B in 2019.
According to Tourism New Zealand’s research on the impact of COVID-19 on intentions to travel, more than 77 per cent of Australians who are actively considering travelling to New Zealand will venture across the ditch to holiday, with 28 per cent wanting to visit family and 18 per cent to visit friends.
Ms Allen said most of the inquiries she was fielding involved Aussie tourists planing to explore the South Island while a handful of travellers were planning to tackle both.
“I’ve been to New Zealand a number of times and I generally recommend people take 14 days to comfortably see everything the country has to offer.
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