Australia May Open Its Borders to Asia Soon

Missing your holidays to the land down under? Australia is considering opening its borders to Asia, said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. This is an attempt to revive the country’s economy after the devastating effects of the pandemic. 

Visitors from the United States or Europe will still not be allowed to enter Australia. But given that the community cases are significantly low, Australia may soon allow visitors from low-risk places to enter. 

Image credit: Pedro Szekely

These include countries like Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and even certain parts of China. China was one of the first countries that had travel restrictions to Australia earlier on. 

Morrison said they would review arrangements that could allow visitors to enter the country with appropriate quarantine measures. 

Why is Australia considering opening its borders?

Tourism in many countries has suffered massively as a result of the pandemic, Australia being one of them. This move is essential to boost Australia’s economy, which shrank as the pandemic progressed. 

While Australians have been taking holidays locally by travelling between states and cities, tourism operators still struggle to make ends meet. Many of them have also dismissed several employees. 

Also read: Singapore to Ease Restrictions for Visitors from Australia, Vietnam

Furthermore, Australia’s consideration to ease border restrictions to Asian countries also comes with them reporting zero local COVID-19 cases. All cases that were detected in locals had returned from overseas and were under quarantine. 

Australia in March has shut its borders to all non-citizens and permanent residents. In October, Canberra allowed residents from New Zealand to enter. As of now, domestic travel is also limited but is scheduled to be unrestricted by the end of the year. 

Image credit: Pedro Szekely

A popular travel destination among many of us, Australia opening its borders to Asia is certainly great news. Let’s hope community cases remain slow and both parties move forward with this arrangement soon!