The Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) has welcomed the announcement of a 19 April starting date for quarantine free travel across the Tasman as a ‘very important stepping stone and a great foundation for going forward.’

However president Brent Thomas reiterates that the opening of Australia is not a saviour in itself for the travel agents community and is looking forward to the opening up of the Pacific and then destinations beyond – especially as vaccination programmes around the world pick up pace.

Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) president Brent Thomas says that while the seemingly imminent opening of a travel corridor between the Cook Islands and New Zealand is positive (Air New Zealand’s website lists regular flights on the route from late March) the reality is that the Cooks alone are a very small segment of the market.

‘Australia, specifically the eastern seaboard, would be a significant life line for the whole supply chain.’

Having clear and certain rules around travel from a supply chain point of view, for both agents and consumers, is taking on even more importance as the industry faces another challenging year, says the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand.

It is clear that many agents are needing income from endeavours outside the sectorand won’t have time to deal with complex travel bookings for little or no return.

The board of the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand says that due to the significant financial impact Covid-19 has had on the travel industry and the flow on to TAANZ it has made the difficult decision to restructure the association.

The outcome is that the role of the chief executive officer is no longer affordable and Andrew Olsen will be leaving in September. The board has highlighted Olsen's many years of service to the association and notes he has championed the TAANZ accreditation model and the elevation of staff qualifications and standards, brought to light the successful National Travel Industry Awards, implemented the ATA brand, been at the forefront of negotiations with IATA and more.

Travel Agents Association of NZ (TAANZ) yesterday advised Treasury it firmly supported the Brand-led submission that had been with MBIE for nearly two months.

Travel agents are still wondering what needs to be done to get government acknowledgment that the industry needs to be supported. A list of tourism attractions were today announced as recipients of relief from the government's tourism fund. 'We were advised to look at this fund as an option,' says Andrew Olsen, TAANZ CEO. 'Unfortunately travel agents are not visitor attractions so that application process was not designed to include us.

The Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) says it has had ‘mixed feedback’ on hotel rates and commissions since the ‘pivot’ to domestic sales.

While the move to Alert Level 1 will further stimulate domestic travel – something which has at least given a flicker of life to some agents and brokers – the industry continues to call for urgent attention to paid to trans Tasman travel and other safe border openings.

Staggering the New Zealand school holidays by region would reduce a ‘quick glut’ of business followed quickly by a soft period for domestic tourism, says Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) president Brent Thomas.

The decision to allow Kiwis to start travelling around the country by air under Alert Level 2 will help kick-start regional economies says the New Zealand Aviation Coalition (NZAC).

Justin Tighe-Umbers, chair of NZAC, says the move will help save and regrow jobs and businesses.