Bubble launch a moment of reunification

The first transtasman bubble flight from Australia to New Zealand by our national carrier is due to land in Wellington at 1pm on Monday.

Plane-spotters will tell you that Air New Zealand flight NZ246 from Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport is usually an Airbus 320 that easily covers the 2200km in just over three hours.

But even the most ardent aviation fan cannot fully describe what the aircraft’s manifest really represents under the new quarantine-free travel arrangements.

The first transtasman bubble journey under the mantle of the Koru tail symbol will be a powerful moment of reunification.

We expect most passengers on that flight are heading here to reunite with family and friends.

They will be treated to a truly special welcome from the moment the door opens to the airbridge.

There is a lot of pent-up demand in Australia. On the night the Prime Minister confirmed the date for the bubble, there were 11,000 hits from Australia internet addresses on our official national website, newzealand. com. Recently there have usually been about 2000 a day.

Jacinda Ardern took on the role of tourism promoter-in-chief and did a whirlwind round of media appearances on all the major Australian news channels. It has paid off.

Air NZ estimates it will reach about 85 per cent of pre-Covid capacity on the transtasman route very quickly. The Government’s marketing and promotion agency Tourism NZ has never stopped working in the Australian market.

It has been quietly and assiduously running finely-tuned campaigns to keep New Zealand destinations alive in the minds of Australians while borders were effectively closed.

The personal stories and moments of reunification will tug at our heartstrings over the next few days and weeks.

But then the business of holiday tourism will start to get serious. It’s our ski season that’s likely to be the true test.

Australian skiers are not able to head to the usual northern hemisphere ski playgrounds such as Aspen in the US or Whistler in Canada or Niseko in Japan. Why would you? The New Zealand dollar is competitive and we are crazy-keen to welcome our Aussie cousins to our skifields.

Prior to Covid-19, Australians were 40 per cent of our international visitors and shelled out $2.7 billion or about a quarter of total annual international tourist spend.

Tourism NZ insights suggest that opening to Australia could deliver $1b to the economy by the end of the year.

This bubble is possible because of the country’s success in managing Covid.

It will boost the economic recovery and reconnect friends and families but this decision is also based on public health. As much as our tourism towns want visitors back, they also want the health of their residents protected.

Kiwis are doing a fantastic job of exploring New Zealand as domestic tourists, no doubt encouraged by the “Do Something New NZ” marketing campaign.

But the surge in domestic tourism cannot cover the big gap from the loss of international visitors. The return of Australian tourists will go some way to address this shortfall.

We are asking all Australian visitors here to do all the same things we expect of Kiwis – download and use the NZ Covid Tracer app, wear masks on public transport, don’t go out if unwell and call Healthline for advice.

Re-igniting transtasman travel is a history making milestone for both Australia and New Zealand. We’ve never been closer neighbours than we are now, and we can’t wait to welcome Australians back to New Zealand.

Welcome back friends and wha¯nau.