New Zealand welcomes cruise ship

Carnival Australia’s Pacific Explorer has become the first cruise ship to visit New Zealand since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in March 2020.

Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by scheduled flights in May, it wasn’t until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals. The end of restrictions allowed Pacific Explorer to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew last Friday (12 August) morning as part of a 12-day cruise from Sydney.

Stuart Nash, Tourism Minister, said: “It’s another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual”.

Nash said that it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.

www.carnival.com

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