Sunshine Coast gets ready to welcome back Trans-Tasman travel

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is rolling out the welcome mat and getting ready to welcome back Kiwi visitors.

This follows today’s announcement by the New Zealand government for quarantine-free Trans-Tasman travel for Australians to start from 11.59pm, Sunday 18 April, 2021.

Visit Sunshine Coast (VSC) CEO Matt Stoeckel warmly welcomed the news as a critical step for the region’s tourism recovery.

“Prior to the pandemic, New Zealand was our number one international market with 84,000 annual visitors, 650,000 room nights, and an economic value of $110 million. It’s a market that also has huge potential for the Sunshine Coast and strategically important for the region.

“Previously, the New Zealand holiday visitor would stay for an average of 7.9 nights, and with seasonal direct flights from Auckland, Kiwi travellers have found our climate, nature-based experiences and laid-back lifestyle particularly attractive over the winter months.

“We know there is huge pent-up demand in New Zealand for international travel and have been working in the background to prepare for the borders to reopen. We have a dedicated resource in New Zealand that has been developing strategies and activities for our market re-entry that will commence from tomorrow in anticipation of the first services to Australia from 18 April 2021.

“This includes a ‘For real’ multi-channel campaign which follows the successful first phase of the campaign that was rolled out earlier in the year in anticipation of the borders opening during 2021. The campaign is ideally timed, to encourage Kiwis to take a winter break and come and enjoy the breadth and depth of experiences available on the Sunshine Coast. In particular it highlights our natural environment which makes us such an attractive and safe destination to visit”.

Also, over the coming months, VSC will roll out a robust industry development program “Restart-New Zealand”, which will comprise mentoring and a set of workshops to assist Sunshine Coast operators to maximise opportunities from the New Zealand market.

Qantas has also announced that it will launch two new routes direct from Auckland to Cairns and the Gold Coast, providing travellers with more options for travel to Queensland and New Zealand.

From 19 April 2021, Qantas and Jetstar will initially operate up to 122 return flights per week across the Tasman on 15 routes, offering more than 52,000 seats each week.