Cath O'Brien: Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director on the tourism sector still not recovering to pre-pandemic levels

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

New Zealand's tourism recovery has seemingly hit a snag.

Overseas visitor arrivals reached 3.2 million in the year to June.

That's up 27% from 2023, but still down 17% on pre-pandemic peaks.

It comes as visa charges rise and hikes to the International Visitor Levy debated.

Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director, Cath O'Brien told Ryan Bridge while other countries continue to recover, New Zealand appears to be stalling.

She says the coming summer's airline schedule expects just 2% growth.

O’Brien says it will bring fewer tourists, and it's counterproductive to steeply increase visa costs at the same time.

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