COVID-19: How some countries are opening up to international travel

As airlines, airports and tourism suffer from the blows of the Covid-19 pandemic, some countries are looking at ways to relax travel restrictions yet keep the spread of infection under control.

A number of countries are still in a state of lockdown. Australia bans travel overseas for all citizens and do not allow entry for visitors. Even returning residents are subject to quotas for re-entry. Japan too is not admitting foreigners, so also China although domestic travel is regaining momentum.

Travellers are confounded by how quickly the rules may change either way, and this can be unnecessarily disruptive. Many fear they may be stranded abroad as a consequence as when British holidaymakers in Spain were forced to cut short their vacation to avoid new rulings on self-quarantine for re-entry into the UK.

There is almost nothing anyone can do if a country remains in a state of complete lockdown (with exceptions for essential travel). But some countries are negotiating reciprocity to allow entry for travellers between them. The idea for safe or green travel corridors has long been floated, particularly between close neighbours such as Australia and New Zealand, or between countries which have succeeded in controlling the spread of the virus.

While ideally the considerations should be health-safety bias, this may not always be the case as it becomes one of scratching each other’s back or be tantamount to a case of tit-for-tat. Already if you look at the state of infection around the world, some countries which may not be looked upon favourably by some may otherwise be considered admissible by others.

In the end, the policy may be unilateral, and this runs into the usual stumbling blocks.

A major hurdle for travellers is the mandatory quarantine as required by most countries even if they were prepared to admit a limited number of international travellers. This is usually 14 days based on the broad findings that a person may take as long as that before any sign of infection manifests itself. When this was first mooted by the British government as a condition for opening up its borders, carriers such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair were quick to point out that it would stifle rather than encourage travel.

Indeed, very few visitors, if at all there were any, would relish the notion of being locked away at some designated hold-up for 14 days before they could be allowed out to do anything during what little might be left of a vacation, The regulation is as good as telling visitors to stay away.

Now some countries are considering reducing the quarantine- period for travellers from some countries which int heir opinion are considered low-risk. Singapore, which is lifting the requirement for mandatory quarantine for travellers from New Zealand and Brunei are reducing the period to one week for others arriving from countries including Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Australia (with the exception of the state of Victoria, and one wonders if this exception may now cover New South Wales in view of a resurgence of the virus there). Iceland goes further to require visitors to isolate only for five days if they agree to subject themselves to two tests, one upon arrival and the second at the end of the shorter quarantine period.

However, will a reduced period of quarantine encourage leisure international travel? Not many though will jump at the offer as it still adds up to lost days and the cost that goes with it. This probably explains why some countries such as Albania and North Macedonia are opening up their borders to all travellers free from restrictions. Andorra does it selectively for travellers within the European Union while requiring travellers from outside the EU to be holed up for 14 days.

Credit Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons

Some countries which are popular for their island resorts are opening up but limiting travel to these locations. Thailand, for example, is opening Phuket in October to visitors for long-term stay of at least 30 days, the first two weeks to spent in quarantine at a hotel. The rest of the country is not ready to admit visitors, and Phuket shall serve a trial to see if it would work for other locations. Apparently, other countries in the region may also implement similar “tourism bubbles”. Bali in Indonesia which had scheduled to reopen in September has postponed the plan and may not welcome international travellers until 2021.

The global situation remains fluid, and while many coutnries are keen to revive tourism, it is a matter of balancing the benefits with the downside of a reurgence of the virus which can undo all the work they have done to stay ahead of the curve. For many travellers, while health safety remains utmost in their mind as to whether it is time to take that vacation, it may also be too much of a hassle to be skiing around the ever changing rules.