Auckland, closed to the world by Covid, tops Lonely Planet’s list of best cities to visit

In further grounds that we each privation what we cannot have, Auckland has taken retired the apical spot successful Lonely Planet’s “best cities to visit” rankings – contempt presently being successful lockdown, the centre of a Covid outbreak, and off-limits to some the remainder of the state and the world.

The announcement generated immoderate amusement successful New Zealand, fixed anyone who present attempts to sojourn the locked-down metropolis risks being slapped with a hefty good oregon situation term. “It is benignant of a lonely satellite successful lockdown level 3,” 1 nonmigratory wrote connected societal media. “Probably means the remainder of the satellite is successful a truly atrocious place,” responded another.

The rankings are, admittedly, for cities to sojourn successful 2022, and Lonely Planet is nary uncertainty optimistic that astatine immoderate signifier adjacent twelvemonth the metropolis volition person reopened to tourists.

Auckland politician Phil Goff said successful a property merchandise that the ranking “will springiness a existent boost to Auckland’s tourism and hospitality sectors arsenic they commencement to retrieve from the Covid-19 lockdowns and borders reopen”.

But the timeframes for New Zealand and Auckland relaxing their borders are inactive up successful the air. For now, immoderate prospective visitors – adjacent those from elsewhere wrong New Zealand – indispensable beryllium granted a ineligible exemption to transverse the policed bound to the city. The metropolis is successful a level 3 lockdown, with astir shops, cafes and restaurants closed to diners, and a prohibition connected indoor gatherings.

For tourists hoping to alert into the country, immoderate prospective trips could inactive beryllium galore months away. At present, lone New Zealand citizens and imperishable residents oregon those with indispensable idiosyncratic visas are allowed to alert in. Even for them, entree is incredibly difficult: it requires booking into the country’s government-run isolation and quarantine facilities. Demand for those spots vastly outpaces supply, with waitlists hitting implicit 30,000.

This week, the authorities signalled it would statesman shortening quarantine stays for afloat vaccinated travellers, and allowing immoderate returnees to isolate astatine location astatine immoderate constituent earlier March adjacent twelvemonth – but made it wide their precedence was facilitating the instrumentality of overseas New Zealanders earlier allowing successful tourists.

Still, Auckland’s agelong lack from the planetary country seems to person made tourism copywriters’ hearts turn fonder. “[New Zealand’s] biggest and astir divers metropolis has ever been beautiful, but 1 unpredicted effect of Covid-19 has been the blossoming of Auckland’s taste scene, putting a caller spotlight connected breathtaking section creativity,” Lonely Planet said successful its introduction for the city.

According to a written release, the cities were “judged against a criteria addressing topicality, unsocial experiences, ‘wow’ origin and sustainability”.

This is not the archetypal clip Auckland made its mode to the apical of planetary rankings: successful June, Wellington and Auckland topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s astir liveable metropolis rankings – chiefly by virtuousness of their Covid-free status. The quality was met with bemusement successful New Zealand, fixed the 2 cities’ struggles with lodging unaffordablity and infrastructure.