FLIGHT TO NZ IN THE WIND
State in talks with airline over links to Cairns and south-east
AIR New Zealand may deliver gold in the form of flights to Cairns from the land of the silver fern if talks with the Queensland Government are successful.
Top-level talks with the airline to secure the flights to the Far North, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and Sunshine coasts are underway.
If successful New Zealand tourists would be the first international visitors to kickstart a tourism revival across the state.
Cairns MP Michael Healy said it would be a boon for the region’s hotels, restaurants and bars should New Zealanders be able to jet into the city.
“The New Zealand PM made it clear that they wouldn’t be opening borders in areas of high risk, and compared to New South Wales and Victoria, we’re streets ahead,” he said. New Zealand is the state’s biggest international tourism market after China.
NEW Zealand tourists could be the first international visitors to kickstart a tourism revival in Cairns.
The Queensland Government has held top-level talks with Air New Zealand to secure flights from New Zealand to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Cairns and the Sunshine Coast.
It is understood the flights from across the ditch could deliver tourists from New Zealand to Queensland months before international flights to NSW and Victoria are back in the sky.
New Zealand is Queensland’s biggest international tourism market after China, with almost 500,000 Kiwis injecting more than $600 million into the state’s economy last year.
About 40,000 travel to the Far North.
Member for Cairns Michael Healy, who had previously held talks with Tourism Minister Kate Jones about considering Cairns for airport links with New Zealand, said Queensland’s relatively low coronavirus statistics made it an ideal jumping-on point for international tourists.
“The New Zealand PM made it clear that they wouldn’t be opening borders in areas of high risk, and compared to New South Wales and Victoria, we’re streets ahead,” he said.
“I think it would be fantastic for our hotels, our restaurants and bars to get our Kiwi friends here.
“At the moment nothing has been confirmed, and I await the outcome of those discussions.”
While it could be months before flights resume with China, New Zealand is a completely different proposition, with the nation earning universal praise for its response to the global pandemic.
New Zealand has just reverted to the lowest level of restrictions after more than two weeks without any new cases of the virus.
New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said travel between the two trans-Tasman nations should not be held back by “slower states” such as NSW and Victoria, which still have a much higher catalogue of cases than elsewhere in Australia.
New Zealand health experts are confident the travel bubble plan could start as soon as next month.
While WA, SA, Tasmania and the two territories have recorded similar success against the coronavirus to Queensland, the Sunshine State is better positioned to welcome Kiwi tourists back, traditionally offering cheaper flights and shorter journeys.
There is an added incentive for New Zealand leaders to push for the resumption of flights, with Australia making up almost half of the country’s annual international visitor numbers.