Australia’s borders will reopen to fully vaccinated visitors on February 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Monday, putting an end to the argument of the world’s most stringent and long-standing pandemic travel restrictions.
“It’s almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia,” Morrison said during a national security cabinet discussion.
“If you’re double vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia.” States, on the other hand, will be permitted to determine their own quarantine regulations. To safeguard the island continent from a spreading virus, Australia’s borders were closed in March 2020.
Australians have been prevented from leaving for the majority of the period since then, with only a few tourists allowed entry waivers. With the removal of border barriers for fully vaccinated international travellers, Australia hopes to strengthen its tourism business. The hospitality industry in Australia has suffered as a result of Covid-induced border restrictions and lockdowns, which have been periodically extended in response to the appearance of new strains of concern.
Lifting limitations on overseas tourists would benefit the country’s hotel industry, which has been hit hard by Covid-related closings and border controls. According to Tourism Australia, prior to the epidemic, the tourism sector earned more than A$120 billion ($84.9 billion) in yearly revenue and employed around 5% of the workforce.
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