With Australia opening its borders to international visitors this week, the plan to re-open New Zealand's gates to foreigners is being met with both criticism and praise from the Bay of Plenty tourism industry.

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan says NZ's plan to reopen partially in July and fully in October has been a long time coming.

While some are happy the borders are finally reopening on a set date, tourism operators are suggesting the plan is still too apprehensive.

'The general sentiment within our sector is that the overall approach is still too cautious, with the staggered phases for differing types of inbound traveller arrivals being spread out across too many months.

'In addition, the proposed self-isolation rules only serve to further complicate matters and will make short-term holidays in NZ uneconomical and unfeasible for international visitors.”

Blair Anderson, director of Waimarino Adventure Park, agrees with this sentiment.

'They killed our industry two years ago. They are now reopening our borders and expecting us go on as usual. It doesn't work like that, no business can operate like that,” says Blair.

'The Government needs to put money in not just for us to survive, but for tourism businesses to start promoting the country again.”

'We used to self-fund to promote this country overseas. I personally would like to see some support coming back. The borders should have reopened a long time ago.”

Blair adds that New Zealand has done very well early on to seize operations and protect our community, but with our large supply of vaccines and boosters, we should have got going again earlier like Australia and parts of Europe.

'We've done everything that was expected of us, now it's time to stop being so cautious,” says Blair.

Don Allardice from Riverbug New Zealand also agrees that it has come too late.

'The season is already over; we're planning for next season now. As a smaller business, we need to get some confidence back into tourism. We have one of the most amazing tourism destinations on the planet, but for some this has come too late.”

The pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty in the tourism sector.

Oscar says even after the Government's reopening announcement, the plan has yet to give proper reassurance.

'As a country, we've learnt that anything can happen while we're dealing with this pandemic. We could just as likely see these dates extended as we could see them shortened – depending on the Government's decision of the day,” says Oscar.

'Australia reopening first is obviously huge disadvantage to our tourism industry here. Not only will Australia get the first crack at satisfying all the pent-up demand that has been building up around the world, but NZ will also lose the opportunity to be promoted as a dual destination while travelers are visiting Down Under.”

The NZ border reopens to vaccinated New Zealanders from Australia at 11.59pm this Sunday, February 27, and re-opens to New Zealanders in the rest of the world on March 13.

By July travellers from Australia, visitors from countries who do not need a visa and those from other countries who already hold a valid visitor visa, plus travellers arriving under the Accredited Employer Work Visa categories can enter NZ and self-isolate upon arrival if fully vaccinated.

From October 2022 all visa categories will reopen, including visitor and student visas. MIQ will be removed for most travellers in phased reconnection, replaced by self-isolation and tests on-arrival, but will remain for the unvaccinated.

Oscar says that Coastal Bay of Plenty is less dependent on international travellers over winter, meaning the bulk of travellers will come later in the year.

'We are a summer destination and shoulder destination, which means we are far less dependent on international visitors during the winter season than other NZ regions.”

At Tourism Bay of Plenty, plans are underway to meet the demand once the borders reopen and the next summer season approaches.

'We are busy working with the likes of Tourism NZ to ensure our [Bay of Plenty] region and its highlights will be included in the next international marketing campaign iteration as we seek to welcome visitors back to Aotearoa,” says Oscar.

These plans involve ensuring products and experiences are market-ready and that operators have the staff capacity to provide the level of manaakitanga our region is renowned for.

Overall, Oscar welcomes the reopening of NZ's borders but is unsure if it is too late compared to other countries.

'It has to be seen as a positive, given it puts a tangible line in the sand – but whether that line is too far out remains to be seen.”

For more information on the plan to re-open, click here.