BENDIGO travel agents are relieved to hear Australians will soon be able to travel to New Zealand without quarantining.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Tuesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the two-way travel bubble would be active from April 19.
"Quarantine-free travel will not be what it was pre-COVID-19, and those undertaking travel will do so under the guidance of 'flyer beware'," Ms Arden said.
"People will need to plan for the possibility of having travel disrupted if there is an outbreak."
Travellers will not be required to produce a negative COVID-19 test before travel.
But that could change in the case of outbreaks.
National Travel Bendigo manager Kaye Schroeder said she was not only thrilled but relieved to hear the announcement.
"We are very pleased," she said.
"This is something we have been waiting for some time now and it is very positive for us.
"Being able to travel without quarantine is really good and it's safe and precautions are in place now."
Ms Schroeder said many clients had already called to book a trip to New Zealand.
"It is somewhere that people aspire to go to for not only a holiday but lots of people in Bendigo have lots of friends and family there," she said.
"We have had many bookings come in since the announcement on Tuesday so that is very welcoming.
"We have been promised this was coming for some time - even late last year it was thought there would be this bubble - and then there was a few setbacks from it so for it to finally come through it is excellent news."
Ms Schroeder said she looked forward to any other possible bubbles.
"I have heard there could be a Singapore bubble that could on the horizon, or the Pacific Island one, but honestly any overseas travel is great for us," she said.
"It's great because people don't just book flights through us, they books tours, trips, cruises and packages."
Ms Schroeder hoped the announcement would bring confidence to potential travellers.
"I think this will give that consumer confidence to potential travellers because every time we have a lockdown, confidence plummets," she said.
"There are things in place now - if another lockdown happens, credits can be in place and the industry is ready."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark bendigoadvertiser.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter @BgoAddy
- Follow us on Instagram @bendigoadvertiser
- Join us on Facebook
- Follow us on Google News