Louise Upston: Tourism Minister on the changes to visa settings to allow tourists to work remotely

The Government's signalling more visa changes could be on the way to encourage overseas travellers.  

There's been a loosening of visa settings, allowing tourists on holiday here for up to nine months to work remotely for an overseas employer.  

Tourism Minister Louise Upston says the tourism sector continues to fall short of pre-pandemic visitor numbers. 

She told Mike Hosking they're looking at how to make New Zealand an easier place to visit, including reviewing the visa rules. 

Upston says the changes have to be balanced by risk, but people want to know if they apply to come here, that they'll likely get in. 

The Tourism Minister says the change will attract digital nomads and is part of the ongoing work to get tourism numbers back to pre-pandemic levels. 

She Hosking Australia will be her initial focus, as it's very easy for Australians to come visit. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More changes to our visa settings. We're now after the
digital nomad. There's going to be a relaxation of requirements,
which means you can visit and work more easily. To
as a minister Louise Upston with us morning.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, Mike ky going.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Very well, thank you great ideas. Should have done it
a year ago.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Why didn't we Well, there are a few other priorities
that had to be done in immigration, but look, I'm
really excited. This is a very clear signal to those
considering coming to New Zealand that New Zealand's open for
business and we welcome them with open arms. Digital nomads
can come and work in New Zealand and travel around
on a staycation for up to nine months.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Fantastic. Lots of other countries have already done it. Are
we a bit late to the you know, to the fund.
We are later they're coming here.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
We are later than other countries. But look, the main
thing is we are very clear we are open for business.
We've got more work to do. We absolutely need to
attract more visitors back. We are a long way away
from where we were in twenty nineteen and we've got
more to do.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Was Matt dous you sleep at the wheel in his portfolio,
not at all.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Look, you know the prime ministers started the year really clearly.
Economic growth is the name of the gay. I'm really
excited about the opportunity to promote New Zealand to international visitors.
If you think about any cafe, restaurant, hotel, theirs capacity.
They want customers and it's our job to go and
get them.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
And I've been binging on about this for two years
and no one seems to be listening. So I read
just yesterday Fiji record year, Raratonga record year. New Zealand
stuck at eighty five percent.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Why yep? So, as I said, we've got work to do.
We could go over all of the reasons. Why my
focus is on what we do next. Some countries are
saying that the visa process is still too difficult, and
so one of the first actions is to look at
what can we do around the visa system. The time

(01:56):
frames have improved, but people want certainty. I don't want
to know if they apply to come to visit New Zealand,
here's a reasonable chance that we'll say yes to them,
and that's of course going to be balanced by risk.
But if you look at Australia for example, it's really
easy for Australians to jump on a plane and hop
across the ditch. So an immediate focus for me and

(02:19):
I've been talking to the industry when I met with
many of the leaders on Friday. Job number one is
get more Australians to visit good stuff.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Well, I wish you nothing but the best with this
and we'll check in on a regular basis around the year.
Appreciate your time as always, Louise Upston, who's the touristm Ministry.
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