Queenstown residents spent Monday giddy with excitement over the boost in business they've been so desperately waiting for.
The trans-Tasman travel bubble opened at 11:59pm on Sunday night. New Zealanders can travel to any Australian state and territory without having to undergo quarantine, while Australians can also travel here and not go into managed isolation.
The tourism mecca welcomed international visitors back by offering a free bungy jump to travellers on Queenstown's first international flight from Australia in 387 days.
There were also welcoming parties, Kiwi cuisine - and fittingly, bubbles.
Emotions at the airport were high as holidaymakers stepped back onto New Zealand soil and trans-Tasman reunions got underway.
Queenstown's central city business owners were fizzing.
One shop owner said the town is "finally going to look like the normal Queenstown again".
Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult hopes the resort town will be the gateway for other struggling tourist hotspots.
"The West Coast, Te Anau they need visitors," he says.
"I'm hoping these folk when they come over will get in their rental car and have a look around."
In March Queenstown businesses were described as "hanging on by their fingernails" as a lack of international tourists stung the region economically.
Queenstown has been vocal in calling for the opening of a trans-Tasman bubble.
"I believe it's time to urgently consider opening the border between our countries and have made representations to the Government to that effect. A trans-Tasman bubble in the short term is critical to survival of our local economy," Boult told Newshub in March.
