‘It is probably earlier than we expected and it allows us to get back to operating a normal environment. It comes at a time when there is still a fair bit of the European summer to come and we were seeing a shift (in consumer behaviour) towards travel later in the season anyway.’
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) lowered its advisory from do not travel to exercise with caution – the level it was at before the latest conflict, Lethbridge points out.
‘I think it is important for the whole industry, there have been a lot of destinations under pressure.’
‘We are cautiously optimistic but we can’t let this detract from our long terms goals anyway. We all expect there to be blips along the way but we need to focus on all the cool things we are doing.’
