Mike Yardley says tourism operators dealing with international tourists need government support until a vaccine allows travel in and out of New Zealand again. I don’t stand to gain personally from any further government assistance to the international travel industry, but I’m intimately aware of the dire straits the sector is in. There are many arms to the travel sector now facing an existential crisis, particularly wholesale and retail travel suppliers. You may recall Finance Minister Grant Robertson committed the Government to supporting “viable but vulnerable businesses” in the May Budget. That’s precisely what these international-facing travel specialists are – viable long-term businesses if they can survive the current pandemic-induced paralysis.

Source: Stuff August 03, 2020 16:52 UTC