After 772 days, the team at The Loop Duty Free New Zealand are excited to welcome back international travellers as New Zealand reopens its borders. As of 12am on Monday, 2 May, passengers travelling from over 50 visa-waiver countries will enter New Zealand without restriction.
Since March 2020, New Zealand has experienced among the most stringent Covid-19 restrictions in the world, with new variants, mandatory quarantine rules and vaccine rollouts all disrupting a return to air travel. Now, as the country adopts a “living with Covid” policy, international passengers will once again be embraced by a Kiwi welcome at The Loop Duty Free.
Throughout the pandemic, Aer Rianta International (ARI) remained committed to continuing operations in Auckland and retaining its team. Among the measures undertaken included the development of a new Customer Value Proposition, ensuring that it is poised to meet and exceed the expectations of the post-pandemic traveller. This includes a focus on sustainability, digitalisation, providing exceptional range and value, convenience, great gifting solutions, hyperconnectivity, and creating a bespoke sense of place.
Retention and continued investment in training has ensured that the team at The Loop Duty Free are prepared to welcome international travellers once again. Recruitment is already underway to further expand the team as passenger numbers increase, with 30 new members joining the business in the last 3 months.
Globally, the appetite for travel is seeing a return to 2019 passenger numbers in some regions. New Zealand expects to follow this international trend, albeit at a more gradual pace as the country conservatively recovers from the effects of Covid-19.
Fwu Wren Loh, General Manager at Aer Rianta International Auckland commented, “We have been eagerly awaiting this moment over the past 2 years, and the entire team at The Loop Duty Free New Zealand is proud to welcome back international travellers. Throughout the pandemic we have been working hard behind the scenes to further enhance our retail proposition and ensure that we are strategically positioned to maximise all new opportunities. We are excited to bring a truly exceptional travel retail experience to passengers as we are fully operational once again.”
