On Feb 21, Australia will restart its borders to international tourists
Key Takeaways:
- Starting February 21, Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has announced that the nation's borders will be open to fully immunized tourists.
- Australia hopes to boost its tourism industry by removing border limitations for fully vaccinated foreign tourists.
- As per Tourism Australia, Australia's tourism industry was hard hit before the pandemic, generating over $84.9 billion in annual revenue.
Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, announced that starting February 21, the country's borders will be open to fully immunized tourists. After an almost two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, one of the world's longest-running pandemic travel restrictions, Australian borders will restart to international tourists.
"It's been around 2 years since we decided to close the borders with Australia," Morrison told reporters. "On February 21 this year, Australia will reopen its borders to all surviving visa holders."
"If you want to come to Australia, you must be double-vaccinated." That is the law. "It is expected that everyone follows it," he added.
On the other hand, States will be able to set their quarantine policies.
With the removal of border restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign tourists, Australia hopes to boost its tourism industry. The hospitality industry in Australia has been severely harmed due to Covid-induced border limitations and lockdowns, which have been repeatedly extended in response to the emergence of new variants of concern.
According to Tourism Australia, Australia's tourism industry was hard hit, generating over $84.9 billion in annual revenue before the pandemic. The tourism industry's annual revenue fell by 41% within the 1st week of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the emergence of the highly infectious Delta variant, Australia and New Zealand had to put the trans-Tasman travel bubble on hold.
The variant prompted authorities in Australia to postpone major events. Whereas the Omicron variant spread rapidly worldwide, the border restrictions remained in place.
The officials are gradually easing the restrictions as hospitalizations, and intensive care admissions proceed to decrease in most parts of the nation.