New Zealand reopened to tourists from Australia three weeks ago and on Monday to about 60 visa-waiver countries, including much of Europe. The spread of Omicron and vaccinations of more than 80% of New Zealand's 5 million population prompted the gradual easing of restrictions. The border rules remained in place as the government at first pursued an elimination strategy and then tried to tightly control the spread of the virus. Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox.Before the spread of COVID-19, more than 3 million tourists visited each year, accounting for 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of the overall economy.īut international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world's toughest border restrictions. The country has long been renowned for its breathtaking scenery and adventure tourism offerings such as bungy jumping and skiing. New Zealand welcomed tourists from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years Monday after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions.