Australia to allow foreign tourists by Feb-end after two-year lockout: Report

Australia may open its borders to foreign tourists by February end after a hiatus of almost two years due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, local media reports said.

The Herald Sun reported Sunday that the government could announce it as soon as Monday following a meeting of the national security committee.

A government minister told a TV news channel that the government plans to open the borders to overseas tourists as soon as possible.

“We are getting ready to open as soon as we can,” home affairs minister Karen Andrews told ABC TV in an interview. “We don’t have all the information we need to be able to take the decision, but we are very close.”

The hospitality sector in Australia has been hard-hit due to Covid-induced border restrictions and lockdowns. Prior to the pandemic, the tourism industry generated over $84.9 billion in annual revenue, according to Tourism Australia. The annual revenue was down by 41% in 2020-2021, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The industry employs a significant 5% of the Australian workforce.

Back-to-back emergence of variants of concern delayed the opening of international borders and even witnessed local travel restrictions.

Australia and New Zealand had to suspend the trans-Tasman travel bubble following the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant, which drove a disastrous Covid wave in India. The variant prompted the cancellation of major events in Australia while the residents remained less confident about booking travel in advance, affecting domestic tourism as well.