Casino operator SkyCity is set to go on a major recruitment drive as the country's borders reopen for international tourism.
File photo, Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The prime minister announced this morning that fully vaccinated Australians will be allowed in from 13 April and those from visa waiver countries from 2 May.
SkyCity chief operating officer Callum Mallett expected a gradual return to pre-Covid levels, instead of a mass influx of tourists.
He said the company was preparing for the incoming demand.
"There'll be an immediate step post-Omicron outbreak. We could see obviously what was happening globally, so we had gone into the last two or three months a bit lighter on staff than we would be normally have been because of the seasonality with summer.
"Now that we're seeing that come off, and ... on top of that the borders opening earlier, [it] gives us confidence. So across our business in both Queenstown, Hamilton and Auckland, we'll need to hire hundreds of staff so really excited about that starting," Mallett said.
The company laid off hundreds of staff at the height of the pandemic with restrictions, as visitor numbers dwindled.
Mallett said the reopening was a significant milestone for New Zealand's Covid-19 economic recovery.
"From a tourism perspective, particularly those in the entertainment and hospitality space, it has been a really challenging two years, so the return of the majority of New Zealand's international markets is a real boost for our sector."
Travellers to New Zealand will not need to isolate on arrival, but will need to provide a pre-departure test and take two rapid antigen tests on day 0/1 and day 5/6, which is the case for all arrivals at the border.
Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash said it was the most exciting moment for the sector in the past two years.
Following the announcement, he said Tourism NZ would begin a new advertising campaign to lure Australian tourists back to Aotearoa.