Australia and New Zealand open the bubble: travel between the two nations resumes
After the tourism corridor between Hong Kong and Singapore, which was conceived and never started, Australia and New Zealand are also aiming [...]
After the tourist corridor between Hong Kong and Singapore, conceived and never left, even Australia and New Zealand they point to a travel bubble between the two countries. A way that will safely reopen borders and facilitate markets by slowly restoring normalcy with quarantine-free travel.
The travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand
In this article:
Australia and New Zealand have been two of the most aggressive countries in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic with drastic closures even for very few positive cases. And now they are teaming up by announcing a travel bubble starting April 19. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern explained that the solution stems from the idea of keeping countries completely free of Covid: "I can't see or point to any country in the world that can manage the pandemic in this way while at the same time opening up to international travel. This means that, in a sense, we are world leaders."
There has been talk for many months of a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand, although this is the first time that such an arrangement seems likely to materialize. Air New Zealand and Qantas have added a significant amount of flights between the two countries changing what was initially a really limited program. Provisions are also made for any significant cases of coronavirus. In the event of an outbreak, in fact, the procedures would be the same as they are now, and then there would be a de facto cancellation of the bubble. Should more cases of unknown origin emerge, New Zealand would likely suspend flights for a specified period of time.
Reopening on a larger scale
The borders of Australia and New Zealand have been more or less closed since March 2020, and neither country has a concrete timeline for when they will open on a larger scale. Although both have done a tremendous job in managing coronavirus cases, they have not made much progress with vaccination. The New Zealand administered a total of 66,000 doses, while Australia 855,000. The two countries are counting on widespread vaccination before reopening their borders, and at this point it appears Unlikely that both will open in 2021.
Travel bubble, early experiments
The one between Australia and New Zealand is not the first travel bubble in the world. Recently in Singapore was created Connect@Chiangi which transforms a hotel facility with meeting rooms, a gymnasium and restaurants into a convention center, aiming to make it a kind of middle ground where travelers will be hosted. Businessmen and women from all over the world will then be able to meet inside the hotel.
On April 1, however. Palau e Taiwan have launched what is being touted as "Asia's first travel bubble," with an inaugural flight from Taipei landing at Palau International Airport just after 7:30 p.m. local time. Nearly 100 tourists disembarked in Palau, greeted by traditional dancers.
