Australia reopens its borders to international travellers

Australia has reopened its border to foreign tourists for the very first time in over two years, after closing due to the Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020. More than 50 different flights are scheduled to arrive today.

Fully vaccinated travellers can enter all states without undergoing a quarantine period except Western Australia, which is sealed till March 3 and will require a booster dose. An up to 14-day quarantine at a hotel is required for unvaccinated travellers.

Australians and a few others have been allowed to come back since late 2021, but most tourists had to wait.

With some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 regulations, Australia was criticised for isolating families and interfering with businesses, but they’re also praised for preventing coronavirus-related deaths before the launch of the vaccination campaign.

In 2019, Australia received around 9.5 million international tourists. The Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment expressed optimism for a substantial recovery in the tourism sector.

“What wonderful, wonderful news for our tourism industry and the 660,000 people employed in it”.

SOURCE: BBC