With quarantine-free travel to New Zealand set to resume in a couple of weeks, enquiries about trips to Australia's trans-Tasman neighbour are already starting to pile in.
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On Tuesday, NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced two-way, quarantine-free travel would recommence with Australia from 11.59pm on April 18, providing some welcome news for holiday seekers and tourism operators alike.
Panorama Cruise and Travel director Caroline Sage said there's already been a steady stream of enquiries following the announcement.
"We've received a significant number of emails already from members of community requesting quotes for travel to NZ," Ms Sage said.
"It's very promising news, and hopefully it will be the beginning of a carefully planned resumption of quarantine-free international travel."
While the news is exciting, Ms Sage agrees there will be some holiday planners who might be hesitant to race into a trip to NZ given the unpredictable nature of border closures.
"As a tourism operator, I hope the international outlook maintains a positive trajectory moving forward," she said.
"With NZ opening their borders to Australia, it's a good sign islands in the South Pacific Ocean could soon follow, meaning cruises will become a viable option again."
The resumption in travel to South Pacific island nations will now depend on negotiations between Australia and respective nations, with the trans-Tasman bubble idea first mooted in May last year.
Ms Sage said domestic travel enquiries have been favourable over the past few months and will continue to improve as long as state borders remain open.
"Sales have certainly improved, we're certainly starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," she said.
"We facilitate clients for corporate purposes as well as leisure, so we've been pretty busy of late."
Australians haven't been able to travel quarantine-free to NZ since March 19 last year.
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