New Zealand is one of the few countries asking for more tourists (Image: Getty)
Do you fancy clocking onto your 9 to 5 while gazing out on a beautiful fiord or trekking up a snow-capped mountain during your lunch break?
If so, you’re just what the tourist board of is looking for. The Pacific island country is bucking the visitor-unfriendly trend and seeking to boost footfall by relaxing its visa restrictions, with new rules coming into effect this week.
It means that so-called “digital nomads” will be allowed to stay in New Zealand while working remotely for a foreign employer on long-term visitor visas, allowing stays of up to nine months.
Unlike similar schemes in Greece and Indonesia, visitors don’t have to fill out lots of extra paperwork, but can use their regular tourist visa to during their trip.
European countries, including Spain and Italy, have had to contend with passionate local protests against as travellers take advantage of cheap flight costs, but New Zealand still has yet to bounce back from the drop of -19.
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New Zealand’s tourist trade has struggled to recover from the COVID pandemic (Image: Getty)
The country’s economy entered a recession last year and international visitor numbers are only at 86% of what they were in 2019.
It is in the government’s interest to attract as many workers and holidaymakers as possible, as a result – and officials hope that it will also boost the famously picturesque island’s profile around the globe.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told a press conference that the new “digital nomad” trend, with more people working remotely than ever before, represented “a market [that] New Zealand can tap into”.
“We want people to see our country as the ideal place to visit and work while they do it,” she said.”
“The government’s ambition is that [the] new visa rules will put New Zealand boldly on the map as a welcoming haven for the world’s talent,” Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis added.
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“We hope that in some cases, it will encourage those people and the firms they represent to consider doing more business with New Zealand in the future.”
The island nation has regularly beaten fierce competition to be named the world’s most beautiful country, with a poll conducted by Rough Guides last year citing its “diverse landscapes”, spanning sandy beaches and mountain ranges, as the reason behind its high ranking.
Film buffs are also regular visitors to the country’s sprawling landscapes, which were used as shooting locations for The Lord of the Rings, and are as good an incentive as any to explore the screen-famous waterfalls in Tongariro Park and the scenic Gardens of Isengard.