Closed under Covid lockdown, Auckland tops Lonely Planet’s list of cities to visit in 2022

Auckland has taken the top spot in Lonely Planet’s “best cities to visit” rankings for 2022.The development seems to have generated some amusement in New Zealand as the city is currently under lockdown. At the centre of a Covid outbreak, the city is off-limits to the whole world.

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The announcement seems to have brought a smile of sorts on several faces in New Zealand as netizens posted some intriguing comments on social media.

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At present, anyone, who attempts to visit the locked-down city now, may get slapped with a hefty fine or prison term.

“It is kind of a lonely planet in lockdown level 3,” a user wrote on social media. While another person responded, “Probably means the rest of the world is in a really bad place.”

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The Lonely Planet seems to be optimistic that at some stage next year, the city will get reopened to tourists.

In a press release, Auckland mayor Phil Goff said that the ranking “will give a real boost to Auckland’s tourism and hospitality sectors as they start to recover from the COVID-19 lockdowns and borders reopen”.

(With inputs from agencies)