A quarantine-free bubble with Australia is good news for Bay of Plenty as Aussies hop across the ditch to experience all that the region has to offer, says Air New Zealand.

In a statement released this afternoon, Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty says the re-opening of a trans-Tasman bubble on April 19 will be a welcome boost for Bay of Plenty.

'We know the region has done it tough during Covid-19 and the bubble will connect the region to thousands of potential Australian tourists and business travellers.

'Our regional centres around New Zealand will benefit from a trans-Tasman bubble. In 2019, we flew roughly 19,600 passengers from Australia to and from Tauranga, underlining the importance of trans-Tasman tourism to places like Bay of Plenty.

'This was just passengers who booked directly through to Tauranga.”

Leanne says there will be many more who flew on to Tauranga on a separate regional flight after a stopover in the main centres or took other transport.

She says it demonstrates the potential trans-Tasman tourism offers for regional operators and local businesses looking for a boost after Covid-19.

'In the days following the bubble announcement, we saw tens of thousands of customers book flights to Aotearoa and we expect many of them to visit places like Bay of Plenty.”

According to MBIE, Australian tourists and business travellers spent $144 million in Bay of Plenty in 2019, providing much-needed jobs and livelihoods.

'New Zealand has one of the best domestic networks in the world, and a key benefit is connecting regions like Bay of Plenty with trans-Tasman routes,” says Leanne.

'Communities in Bay of Plenty are vital to Air New Zealand and we recognise we play a critical role in connecting regional New Zealand to loved ones, business opportunities, and to regional growth and employment through tourism.

'We're looking forward to a bumper season and bringing much-needed Aussie visitors to regional New Zealand.”

Current Covid Numbers

There continues to be no community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.

But there are two being reported in managed isolation, says the Ministry of Health.

The two new cases are both in MIQ facilities in Auckland.

The first arrived in the country on April 8 via India, while second flew here from Ethiopia on April 10.

As predicted by the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield on Wednesday, the seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is continuing to drop.

It was reported to be eight on Wednesday, and Ministry of Health is reporting it to be five today.

'The number of previously reported cases that have now recovered is two,” says a spokesperson for the MOH.

'The total number of active cases in New Zealand today is 101.
'Our total number of confirmed cases is 2235. '

Since January 1, there have been 45 historical cases, out of a total of 419 cases.