Spread the love
Post Views: 4

As the world moves further towards revival, economies are reopening their international borders for tourism. The world travel and tourism industry has suffered a heavy dose of stagnancy because of the unprecedented lockdowns.
But, with mass vaccination drives and increasing immunity against the virus, world leaders are taking the risk of reopening borders across countries. 
As the conditions got severe in countries like India because of the Delta variant, Prime Minister Scott Morrison had announced that Australia would keep its borders closed at least till the end of this year.
However, as more countries are advancing towards reopening borders and with Australia progressing with its vaccination process, Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said at a National Press Club of Australia recently that the country might reopen its borders by Christmas once it reaches 80% of vaccination. Seems like people will be able to freely travel outside Australia with no restrictions!
ALSO WATCH: Insight into the Australian Art sector and how it can attract tourism?
What is the current state like?
There’s a lot of confusion ranging in the tourism and aviation industry regarding the borders reopening this year. Following the Tourism Minister’s announcement, experts say that the current national plan to reopen borders on Christmas is too vague and it needs a wholesome plan of action.
Qantas has already started selling tickets for international travel for foreign visitors and Australians for December. However, it is still unclear if the country would reopen its borders.
According to Dan Tehan’s statement, there will be a gradual reopening of inward and outward international travel with safe countries once 80% of Australians are double vaccinated. Besides, the government is exploring opening travel bubbles with several countries.
Raging confusion across the aviation industry
As Qantas is selling off the tickets to London, Singapore, the US, etc., other airlines are muddling with confusion if the borders would reopen by Christmas. Additionally, before the pandemic, 52 airlines were serving Australia, but now there are only 18. So, the industry leaders say that the aviation industry might not be equipped to facilitate the increase in demand if the borders reopen suddenly.
Moreover, Singapore airlines have cancelled flights for Australia for the upcoming months, which were initially set in place amid the discussion around the travel bubble between Singapore and Australia. But, unfortunately, because of the rising uncertainty, the airlines have cancelled all the flights.

Image source:  © Udra11 | Megapixl.com
Differential thinking & decision making
There’s also confusion regarding which states will adhere to the new guidelines if they are imposed. For instance, Western Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania have denied reopening borders once 80% of people are double vaccinated.
Quarantine rules are also another matter of differentiation between states; for instance, only South Australia and New South Wales are committed to trialling home quarantine.
Above all, the most significant issue is with vaccination verification certificates. Many domestic vaccines around the world are not internationally accepted. For instance, it’s still unclear if Australia will recognise vaccines like Sinovac, the main jab in countries like China, Indonesia, etc. And blocking China from the tourism prospects would be a significant loss for Australia.

Image source: © Grafner | Megapixl.com
 ALSO READ: How feasible is travel ban amidst Australian tourism woes
Conclusively, suppose Australia is serious about reopening its borders by Christmas. In that case, the policymakers need to think about how the aviation industry would manage the sudden surge in demand, which vaccines would be recognised, the quarantine rules and will all the states adhere to the same quarantine rules. Once all these matters are cleared, Australia will be better positioned to head towards a speedy recovery.
SOURCE: KALKINE MEDIA