In some very welcome good news for the travel industry, the two-way travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand is expected to start either on April 12 or 19. This will be the first time borders have opened completely on a two way basis since the beginning of the COVID19 crisis.
Although travellers will need to submit to COVID19 testing and strengthened contact tracing protocols, there will not be the need to quarantine automatically imposed on the basis of travelling between Australia and New Zealand.
Before the pandemic, about 600,000 travellers used to go between Australia and New Zealand annually to visit family, for tourism and for work. A number of industries such as airlines, travel agents, hotels and tour operators relied heavily on travel between the two countries.
For many, the opportunity to reunite with family is a very welcome development after many months apart due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus sanctions.