With a trans-Tasman bubble on the table, thousands of New Zealanders could be considering a trip across the ditch for a getaway. After months of struggles, Australia's tourism operators are raring to get going again.
Simon Westaway, from the Australian Tourism Industry Council, says a realistic timeframe for the bubble is needed so both New Zealand and Australia can benefit.
"The sceptics in our industry would think it's just a ticket for more people to get down to Queenstown and ski. You've got to look at it both ways," he told TVNZ 1's Breakfast this morning.
Australia's tourism industry has been hit with a double blow recently, Covid-19 coming just months after devastating bushfires.
While Covid-19 continues to ravage the international tourism industry, the possibility of a trans-Tasman bubble is a beacon of hope.
Around 1.7 million Australians go to New Zealand short-term each year, Mr Westaway says.
New Zealand currently has zero active cases of Covid-19 in the country, while Australia is still gaining new cases each day - including a Melbourne case yesterday, who was diagnosed after attending a Black Lives Matter rally .
Each Australian state has different restrictions in place to combat the virus.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed they're working on a travel bubble , but says it's down to Australia as well.
Mr Westaway says it needs to get going.
"We've got a $150 billion visitor economy, the international market's worth $50 billion to us, it's a huge industry here in Australia," he says.
"Let's push on with this bubble on a realistic timeframe, that's how we're going to get our economies really moving."
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