Wellington, Aug. 12 (BNA): New Zealand on Friday welcomed its first returning cruise ship since the novel coronavirus pandemic began, in a sign of the country’s long-awaited return to the tourism industry.
New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it initially sought to eradicate COVID-19 completely and later to control its spread, the AP reports.
Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists who arrived by plane in May, it did not lift all remaining restrictions, including restrictions on arrivals by sea, until two weeks ago.
The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia’s Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew on Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that departed from Sydney.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said it will take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of gross domestic product.
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