The cost of slow border openings to tourism: $39b by 2024

The Wanaka tree, one of Instagram's most popular snaps, waits for borders to open. (Image: Deposit photos)

Mon, 29 Nov 2021

New Zealand's tourism sector has tracked losses of more than $1.2 billion a month since border closures last March, Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) says.The 1,300-member advocacy group counts $26b in lost earnings since NZ's border restrictions began, as the government's reaction to the covid pandemic smashed the country's biggest export earner.In 2019, the visitor economy generated $17.5b, or about a fifth of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. That's more than dairy exports, which were at $17.1b.And there’...

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