3. Question No. 3—TourismKIERAN McANULTY (Labour—Wairarapa) to the Minister of TourismQuestion No. 3—Tourism3. KIERAN McANULTY (Labour—Wairarapa) to the Minister of Tourism: What reports if any has he received about the appeal of New Zealand as a visitor destination following the Tourism New Zealand trade show in Sydney this week?Hon STUART NASH (Minister of Tourism): This week I led a delegation to one of our first major international trade events by Tourism New Zealand since the COVID outbreak in March 2020. The Tourism New Zealand Regional Showcase in Sydney followed the Prime Minister's successful trade and travel visits to Singapore and Japan last month. The resumption of tourism and trade missions is crucial to our economic recovery as we reconnect with the world. Around 60 delegates from almost 30 regional tourism organisations in New Zealand took part in the two-day event with one common message and that is New Zealand is now fully open for business." Tourism New Zealand advised that there was a great energy in the room and immense interest in New Zealand from buyers as a business opportunity. Australian buyers have highlighted that New Zealand will be one of their priority destinations for the year ahead.Kieran McAnulty: What reports has he seen of the value to regional destinations at the event the Minister attended especially to Wairarapa?Hon STUART NASH: Destination Wairarapa made a strong showing at the event promoting the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail covering the entire Wairarapa electorate. Barb Hyde from Destination Wairarapa said that it was "great to be back at a Tourism New Zealand event. Travel trade getting lots of incoming bookings and inquiry; exciting times ahead." But not to be outdone Visit Fiordland manager Stu Cordell was also one of the representatives at the event. He was keen on selling the idea of how easy it is to get to Southland and Fiordland. We're only three hours away and it doesn't have to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. He further discussed that New Zealand is a cheaper travel destination for Australians than America and the carbon footprint was smaller. This is an important point because there has been a global shift towards considering the environmental impact of travel.Kieran McAnulty: What reports has he seen about the value of the event to our cities?Hon STUART NASH: The Tourism New Zealand event served as a springboard for Auckland Unlimited to facilitate an additional event called Auckland is Calling. Gavin Oliver chair of Auckland Regional Tourism Forum said "It is fantastic to be getting offshore and promoting Auckland once again. … Previously Australia was our largest visitor market for the city so events like this deliver a vital link for the city's wider business community allowing us both to reconnect with former key partners and develop new relations which in turn will start to see revenue again flow through our city's visitor economy."Joseph Mooney: What appeal does the Minister think New Zealand will have as a visitor destination if tourism and hospitality businesses can't open their doors due to staff shortages given that accredited employer work visa holders won't be coming until the end of August at the earliest and if only 337 working holidaymakers have entered New Zealand so far?SPEAKER: I'm going to the let the Minister answer the question but I will remind the member that he should go back and have a look at the very good point of order made by the Hon Michael Woodhouse earlier in the week.Hon STUART NASH: Immense appeal."