South East Asia gradually re-opening to vaccinated foreign arrivals
With Thailand now open to vaccinated travellers from 63 approved countries, the rest of South East Asia is preparing to follow suit. According to a TTR Weekly report, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia all have their own variations on a re-opening plan.
In Vietnam, the resort island of Phu Quoc will re-open later this month for fully vaccinated foreign travellers. Vietnam is accelerating its vaccine rollout as currently, just 38% of its population of 98 million is vaccinated.
Singapore has already introduced a Vaccinated Travel Lane system with several countries, with Malaysia, Sweden, and Finland to be added from November 29. By December 6, the city state will have 21 VTL arrangements in place.
Since October 14, Indonesia’s Bali and Riau Islands have been open to vaccinated travellers from 19 approved countries. Indonesia has also agreed a Vaccinated Travel Lane arrangement with Malaysia, although the finer details are still being ironed out. It’s understood the VTL would apply between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, as well as between Kuala Lumpur and Bali. As part of the VTL, there would be mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and PCR test results.
Elsewhere in Malaysia, fully vaccinated foreign tourists are now welcome quarantine-free in Langkawi. The government says it hopes to fully re-open its international borders from January 1 at the latest.
In Cambodia, PM Hun Sen declared on Monday that quarantine has now been lifted for fully vaccinated foreign arrivals. Over 87% of Cambodian residents are now vaccinated against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, South Korean officials are in talks with the Philippines over a potential quarantine-free travel pact between both countries. If approved, this would be the first travel bubble for the Philippines since the beginning of the pandemic.
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SOURCE: TTR Weekly
