Bringing the reopening of New Zealand’s border forward for all-comers to 31 July means passengers can finally book with certainty airlines say.

It also means that they can put the final pieces of the puzzle together in terms of routes and capacity for flights to New Zealand.

The founder and director of Australian independently owned travel management company, Connections Group says weathering the storm of the past two years will mean nothing if the industry can’t attract a high calibre of employee to now help in what could be the sector’s busiest period on record.

The Omicron outbreak and related restrictions continue to stall any meaningful recovery of hotel performance in New Zealand. Last month’s Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) was 28% of its pre-pandemic level in March 2019, according to Hotel Data NZ (HDNZ).

Occupancy levels varied from a low of 22% in Queenstown to a “high” of 54% in the Nelson/Marlborough region, averaging 33% across the country’s main hotel markets.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says air travel posted a strong rebound in February 2022 compared to January 2022, as Omicron-related impacts moderated outside of Asia. The war in Ukraine, which began on 24 February, did not have a major impact on traffic levels.

Moves are afoot within Cambodia’s tourism industry to work towards a possible reopening of borders for fully vaccinated international travellers by November this year.

The Cambodian tourism ministry recently announced that fully vaccinated international tourists with proof of their inoculation could be allowed into Cambodia as soon as November 2021.

Cambodia is also considering lessening or removing the 14-day quarantine policy for fully vaccinated tourists, barring certification showing a negative Covid test 72 hours before travel and another negative Covid test upon arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport.

A new campaign just launched by Tourism Australia aims to lure young New Zealanders across the ditch by showcasing the adventures and experiences they can have while working and travelling in Australia. The young Kiwis are being urged to take a working holiday and gain employment in sectors such as agriculture, tourism and hospitality.
Australia's Tourism Minister, Simon Birningham, says with travel from across the Tasman back in play this is an opportunity to entice New Zealanders to take a longer stay in Australia and

Botswana’s borders began progressively opening this week. The country’s President has announced a phased approach that will see air travel resume at Botswana’s three key airports: Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, Kasane and Maun.

International air travel will then follow, resuming from 1 December at Phillip Gaonwe Matante International Airport in Francistown, as well as the opening of ground crossings at the commercial

The impact of Covid-19 on airports ‘has hastened trends of change that were already in motion before the pandemic’, according to Foster + Partners architect and senior partner Antoinette Nassopoulos-Erickson.

This includes advancing the implementation of biometrics and contactless technologies at airports, she told the audience at a recent CAPA - Centre for Aviation Masterclass event

Kiwi travel businesses are doing a good job of adjusting to the ‘new normal’ of Covid-19, says Paul Davies, who founded Travel Accounting and a is now a partner at OneTeam Chartered Accountants.

Davies, a travel accounting specialist, says while Covid-19 has brought sudden and unanticipated challenges at a level never before experienced by the industry, businesses are drawing on