Sydney: Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison announced Monday, that Australia will be welcoming the tourists from February 21. They are ending some of the world’s strictest and longest-running pandemic travel restrictions.
After a meeting of the national security cabinet, “It’s almost two years since we decided to close the borders to Australia,” Morrison said. He announced that the borders will reopen to all visa holders “on the 21st of February of this year,” adding, “if you’re double vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia.”
Since March 2020, Australia had shut its borders, hoping to be saved from the surge of a pandemic. For most of the time since then, Australians have been barred from leaving and only a handful of visitors have been granted exemptions to enter.
These strict norms set amid pandemic, separated many families, had stranded nationals overseas, hammered the country’s multi-billion-dollar tourist industry, and prompted often bitter debates about Australia’s status as a modern, open, and outward-looking nation.
In recent months, rules have been gradually relaxed for Australians, long-term residents, and students.
The latest decision will see almost all remaining caps lifted.
It comes after the country’s long-standing “Covid-zero” policy was abandoned, vaccination rates rose and the once stellar track-and-trace system collapsed under a wave of Omicron cases.
Only a handful of countries remain closed to tourists — among them Japan, China, New Zealand, and several Pacific Island nations.
Amid the pandemic the travel and tourism industry of Australia had been severely affected. It struggled as visitor numbers fell almost 98 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re very excited about being able to reopen,” said Tony Walker, managing director of the Quicksilver Group, which operates cruises, diving, and resorts across the Great Barrier Reef.
“The last couple of years have been incredibly difficult for us,” he told AFP, urging people overseas to “come to visit”.
During the pandemic, the firm went from 650 employees down to the 300 it has today.
Walker said he expected “it will take some time to recover” from the past two years.
Many tourism operators around Australia are experiencing staff shortages, given how few backpackers and working holidaymakers are coming to Australia.
After reopening too, there will be some kind of restrictions. The vast state of Western Australia remains closed to most non-residents. It is currently easier to travel from Sydney to Paris than Sydney to Perth.
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