After two years practically isolated from the outside world, Australia reopened its international borders on Monday to all those tourists with a visa who are vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The opening is a respite for many family members and relatives separated for a long time and a tourism sector that is going through low hours.
At Sydney airport, where 27 of the 56 flights scheduled for today arrived, passengers were greeted with music, stuffed koalas and kangaroos, flowers and typical food from the country. “It’s amazing to have her back,” said an emotional Bernie Edmonds after hugging Charlotte, his eight-year-old granddaughter.
Australia
The passengers were received with music, stuffed animals, flowers and typical food of the country
Another Sydney resident, Jody Tuchin, was delighted to be able to pick up her best friend, whom she hasn’t seen since 2018. “She’s back just in time for my wedding, which is in four days,” she told Agence France Press. .
To enter the country, visa holders must have received two doses of the covid-19 vaccine and present a negative test carried out before flying in order to enter without having to undergo quarantine.
This rule applies throughout the country except for the Western Australia region, which plans to lift the restrictions on March 3.
Charlotte Roempke, 8, hugs her grandfather Bernie Edmonds upon arrival at Sydney airport.
In March 2020, Australia closed its borders to almost everyone in an attempt to stop the advance of the pandemic in its territory.
The veto also included a ban on its own citizens from traveling abroad without an exemption and placed a strict limit on international arrivals, earning it the nickname “Fortress Australia”.
During that year and part of 2021, the country opted for a zero tolerance policy against the virus, for which it maintained the border seal and decreed strict confinements such as those in Sydney or Melbourne.
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But with the increase in inoculations among the population -it already has 95% of those over 16 years of age vaccinated with two doses-, its authorities opted to move to a new phase of coexistence with the virus, for which they announced the relaxation gradual implementation of some measures and the reopening of its borders.
For the Australian Minister of Tourism, Dan Tehan, who today wore a T-shirt that read “Welcome back”, today is “a great day” for a sector that received 9.5 million foreign visitors in 2019 and billed about 38,500 million euros.
“What wonderful, wonderful news for our tourism industry and the 660,000 people employed in it,” he told local television.
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But while he hopes the sector will revive, it remains to be seen how the lack of Chinese visitors affects them. In 2017, the Asian giant surpassed neighboring New Zealand for the first time as the main sending country of tourists to Australian territory, and in 2019 its 1.3 million visitors spent some 8,000 million euros, around a quarter of the total left by foreign visitors.
For now, Beijing remains faithful to its policy of zero tolerance for the virus, with strict border controls that make it very difficult for its nationals to visit other countries.
If we add to this the political tensions between their governments, which have left their bilateral relations at the lowest point in recent years, everything indicates that these tourists will take time to return en masse to enjoy Australian tourist attractions and spend their precious currencies.
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